Sbm Plans To Pare Npa Ratio By 2%

State Bank of Mysore (SBM) today said that it will reduce its non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio by almost 2 per cent and would end the current fiscal with a NPA of about 5 per cent. The associate bank of State Bank of India, also said that retail lending would be a priority area this year.

SBM has a net NPA ratio of about 7.36 per cent and this would be about 5 per cent by the end of the current fiscal. Speaking at a press conference, Niranjan Bardalai, chief general manager said, the bank would soon integrate its technology platform with that of the State Bank of India which is implementing the core banking product Finacle from Infosys.

 

"We would soon be aggressively offering the likes of personal loans, educational loans, loans to small businesses and the whole set of loans that our parent State Bank of India is offering in the retail sector" Bardalai said.

SBM he said had taken a hit last year on its profitability as coffee prices crashed and the bank had a significant exposure to the coffee plantations in Karnataka.

SBM, he said, would also look at lending to the entertainment sector and this would also be a thrust area for the bank.

The bank intends to grow its deposits to Rs 9,857 crore and its advances to Rs 6,174 crore by March 31, 2003. The operating profit is projected at around Rs 300 crore and a net profit of Rs 130 crore, which would represent an almost 100 per cent growth in net profit.