Public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore in the last two months to various sectors, including agriculture, MSME and corporate that are hit hard by nationwide lock down due to COVID-19.
On the other hand, Non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) have received Rs 1.18 lakh crore from these banks between March 1 and May 8 apart from PSBs sanctioned loans.
“PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.95 lakh crore for more than 46.74 lakh accounts from the MSME, Retail, Agriculture & Corporate sectors between March 1 and May 8, 2020. Total financing worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore was provided to NBFCs,” tweeted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
With the nationwide lock down coming into effect from March 25, state-owned banks opened an additional line of credit of 10% of the existing fund based on working capital limits, subject to a maximum of Rs 200 crore.
“Between March 20 – May 8, Public Sector Banks contacted 97 per cent of borrowers eligible for emergency credit lines & working capital enhancements and sanctioned loans worth Rs 65,879 crore, up from the Rs 26,500 crore sanctioned as of May 4,” Sitharaman said in another tweet on PSBs sanctioned loans.
The central government had imposed Lockdown 1.0 for 21-days from March 25 to check the spread of coronavirus.
The lockdown has been extended till May 17 with some relaxations for the third phase.
