Vijaya Bank farm credit up 47% in Q1

Bangalore-based Vijaya Bank, has registered 47.25 per cent rise in its agricultural credit to touch Rs 2,468 crore in Q1 FY 07, as against Rs 1,676 crore in Q1 FY 06.

Agricultural credit constitutes 14.65 per cent of net bank credit. In addition to easing Kisan Card banking service, the bank has constituted an Anti Money Laundering (AML) Cell and has also developed AML software which has been implemented, the Bank chairm and managing director Prakash P Mallya said.

Addressing a press conference, here on Saturday, he said Vijaya Bank's priority sector credit stood at Rs 7,671 crore in Q1 FY 2006-07 as against Rs 6,138 crore reported in Q1 FY 2005-06 recording a growth of 24.97 per cent on year-on-year basis.

Priority sector credit as percentage to net bank credit stood at 45.54 per cent as against 43.76 per cent as on June 30, 2005.

Advances to small and medium enterprises sector (SMEs) stood at Rs 1,467 crore constituting 8.71 per cent of net bank credit. Advances to small scale industries stood at Rs 1,028 crore constituting 6.10 per cent of net bank credit.

With an aim of facilitating easy banking operations to farmers and to provide them banking service on 24x7 basis, has launched an ATM-enabled Kisan Card at Coimbatore branch on a pilot basis.

The chairman said "Vijaya Bank is the third bank in the country to offer such a banking service on a 24x7 basis. Once the pilot project is complete, we will offer these services to cover two lakh cards in the first year of operations."