The Hindu Business Line : Debt relief for co-ops raises farmers' hopes in Kerala

The credit-deposit (C-D) ratio of commercial banks in the State is a poor 41 per cent, which can be attributed to the large amount of NRE deposits garnered by banks for which suitable deployment avenues are not available.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec. 22

THE announcement of a debt relief scheme by the State Government for co-operative banks has contributed to raised expectations of a similar gesture from commercial banks among the farmers, who are smarting under one of the worst reverses from the market.

This was stated in the `State Focus Paper Kerala - 2003-04' brought out by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

Commenting on recoveries in the State, it says that the situation has become worse on account of agitation by some of the farmer associations and the low price of agricultural commodities.

"Kerala is blessed with one of the most extensive banking networks in the country," the paper says.

As on March 31, 2002, there were 49 commercial banks, two regional rural banks, 44 primary co-operative agricultural and rural development banks, 14 district co-operative banks and one State Co-operative Bank accounting for a total of 3,861 branches.

In addition, 11,634 primary agriculture credit societies were also operating in the State.

Thus, the average population covered by a branch comes to 5,876 as against the all-India average of 15,000.

The pre-nationalisation figure was 35,000 in 1969.

The banks in the State have a total deposit base of Rs 64,098 crore and an outstanding advance amount of Rs 33,847 crore as on March 2002.

It is estimated that about five per cent of the total deposits in the country are mobilised by commercial banks in Kerala.

On the advance front too, commercial banks rank first, followed by the primary agriculture credit societies, the district co-operative banks, the primary co-operative agricultural and rural development banks and the State Co-operative Bank.

A comparative study of the respective C-D ratios shows that the primary agriculture societies accounted for the highest (109.36 per cent), followed by the regional rural banks (108.65 per cent), while the commercial banks constituted the lowest flank (41.41 per cent).

However, the paper adds, it is heartening to note that co-operative banks and regional rural banks have relatively high CD ratios - 64.04 per cent for the State Co-operative Bank, 66.56 per cent for the district co-operative bank and 109.36 per cent for the primary agricultural credit societies.

Co-operatives, which held 19.41 per cent of the deposits (Rs 12,442 crore), have been instrumental in deploying credit to the extent of 34.82 per cent of the total, i.e, Rs 11,785 crore against the total credit of Rs 33,847 crore, according to the paper.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
Comment on this article to BLFeedback@thehindu.co.in

Stories in this Section
Debt relief for co-ops raises farmers' hopes in Kerala

Mixed trend at Kochi tea sale

Cotton prices seen moving up

Gold surges to 6-year high

Paras scouts for dairies to expand national presence

Sharp drop seen in global cereal output

ICMF action plan to vitalise cotton sector