Allahabad Bank has identified its focus lending areas as the bank looks to push credit offtake in 2019-20. The city-based bank has placed the agri investment segment and the mid-corporate MSME segment as the thrust areas next fiscal.

“Internally we are creating focussed areas in terms of lending to agriculture and mid corporate segment of the MSME category. Majority of the current agriculture lending where the base is around Rs 27,000 crore comprises KCC (Kisan Credit Cards).

“We would like to move towards agri investment lending for which we have already identified 20 branches which would be operational from April 1, 2019 wherein we are putting special skilled resources,” said CH. S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao, managing director and CEO of Allahabad Bank.

“Already we have entered into a tieup with College of Agriculture Banking, RBI Pune. The advantage of agriculture investment lending is we have seen few state governments have come up with their own schemes whereby the marketing linkage is being taken care by the respective governments,” he said.

Opportunity count

The mid-corporate segment is generally an area between Rs 10 crore to 100 Rs crore, which is not a current focus area of the bank.

“This we are converting to a focus area where the possibility of quality of assets and collaterals are expected to be high. Our current profile stands at Rs 11,000 crore which we would like to augment,” Rao said.

The total advances of the bank at the end of the October-December quarter were Rs 1,58,478 crore, down 2 per cent over the corresponding quarter previous year.

Advances were partially affected by the decision to wind up the business in Hong Kong.

However, within the total advances, retail, MSME and agri credit at Rs 74,525 crore, grew only 0.34 per cent.

“In June 2019 we would like to be break even and present our case before the RBI for review of PCA (Prompt Corrective Action). However, after the PCA is over we have the plans and strategies in the respective areas,” Rao said.