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Priority Sector -- banks not reaching targets -- what they should do?

ET in the classroom: Priority-sector lending
May 10, 2011, 06.07am IST
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Tags:
·        RIDF|
·        reserve bank of india|
·        priority-sector lending|
·        NBC|
·        FCNR


What is priority-sector lending?
Banks were assigned a special role in the economic development of the country, besides ensuring the growth of the financial sector. The banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, has hence prescribed that a portion of bank lending should be for developmental activities, which it calls the priority sector.
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Are there minimum limits?
The limits are prescribed according to the ownership pattern of banks. While for local banks, both the public and private sectors have to lend 40 % of their net bank credit, or NBC, to the priority sector as defined by RBI, foreign banks have to lend 32% of their NBC to the priority sector.
What is net bank credit?
The net bank credit should tally with the figure reported in the fortnightly return submitted under Section 42 (2) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. However , outstanding deposits under the FCNR (B) and NRNR schemes are excluded from net bank credit for computation of priority sector lending target/subtargets.
Are there specific targets within the priority sector?
Domestic banks have to lend 18 % of NBC to agriculture and 10 % of the NBC has to be to the weaker section. However, foreign banks have to lend 10 % of NBC to the small-scale industries and 12 % of their NBC as export credit. However, for the balance, there are a vast number of sectors that banks can lend as priority sector. The Reserve Bank has a detailed note of what constitutes a priority sector, which also includes housing loans, education loans and loans to MFIs, among others.
What has been the experience so far?
It has been observed that while banks often tend to meet the overall priority sector targets, they sometimes tend to miss the sub-targets. This is particularly true in case of domestic banks failing to meet their sub-targets for agricultural advances. One of the reasons banks often site for not lending to this sector is that recovery is often difficult.
Is there any penal action in case of non-achievement of priority sector lending target by a bank?
Domestic banks having a shortfall in lending to priority sector/ agriculture are allocated amounts for contribution to the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund ( RIDF ) established in Nabard. In case of foreign banks operating in India, which fail to achieve the priority sector lending target or sub-targets, an amount equivalent to the shortfall is required to be deposited with Sidbi for one year.

 http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-05-10/news/29528246_1_priority-sector-priority-sector-lending-net-bank-credit

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