SEWA joins hands with SBI

As per the MOU, the SGMH will work as a business facilitator (BF) and it will conduct only non financial business activities, identification of potential customers and activities, collection and preliminary process of loan applications/ account opening forms including verification of primary information, post-sanction monitoring and follow-up recovery, creating awareness about savings and other products and education and dvice on managing money and debt counselling.

The SBI will give 0.5 per cent commission to SGMH on the saving, credit and it will provide crop credits at mere seven per cent per annum to underprivileged section in the rural areas.

In a ceremony held at SBI's local head office in Ahmedabad, Umadevi Swaminathan, managing director of SGMH and Rajesh Sikka, assistance general manager of SBI (Ahmedabad circle) signed the MOU on the engagement.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr HC Pattnaik, chief general manager, SBI (Ahmedabad circle) told, "The business facilitator model envisages use of intermediate entities/ individuals to provide support services for the bank. We are very happy engaging Sewa Gram Mahila Haat as on of the business facilitator and it will give boost to SBI's efforts to provide comprehensive financial services to the underprivileged population in the untapped rural areas."

"The BC/BF channel forms an important component of SBI's rural business strategy and its growth aspirations, which is expected to contribute upto 25 per cent of its advances projections by year 2009-10," said an SBI official.