Credit growth will come from retail, MSMEs: SS Mallikarjuna Rao, PNB MD

"MSMEs are working hard to come back to normalcy. We expect a robust comeback from them in October, particularly in some sectors"

Punjab National Bank (PNB) is confident that its balance sheet won’t be impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, except for some stress in limited sectors such as telecom. In a telephonic interview, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer SS Mallikarjuna Rao tells Somesh Jha about the bank’s prospects and plans for the year. Edited excerpts:

You are expecting credit growth of 6 per cent this fiscal year, from an earlier estimate of 12 per cent. Where would the growth come from?

There is a requirement and commitment of banks towards the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have been impacted badly