NRIs might boycott banks not supporting rehab scheme: Minister

Noting that banks in the state largely depended on NRE deposits, Kerala Minister for Non-Resident Keralite Affairs K C Joseph today cautioned that NRIs from the state might boycott them if they did not support the rehabilitation package for Gulf returnees.
"NRIs from the state will be forced to boycott banks in Kerala if they do not the support the rehabilitation scheme of the government," he said in a statement here.
The minister's statement comes a day after it was revealed at the State Level Bankers Conference that the NRE deposits in the commercial banks in the state stood at more than Rs One lakh crore as on March 31 last.

Only two banks have come forward to cooperate with the state government's rehabilitation package for those who returned from violence-hit countries like Syria, Libya, Iraq and due to changed labour laws in Saudi Arabia.
'Other banks have not shown any interest in the scheme', he said.
The government had worked out a scheme for comprehensive rehabilitation of the returnees and the banks should change their stand and support it, he said.
Banks also should disburse loans up to Rs. Five lakhs by modifying stringent conditions, he added.