KL Report
SRINAGAR
Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather Sunday asked the banking institutions to extend their reach in the hinterland, in order to support inclusive growth.
Speaking to a gathering, after inaugurating a Bank branch of HDFC at Chadoora in district Budgam, Rather asked the Banks to reach out to rural and unbanked areas to give impetus to the economic and business activities in the State. He also urged for improving Credit- Deposit Ratio (CDR) adding that the role of Banks in socio-economic emancipation was pivotal.
Appreciating HDFC for opening its 60th Branch in the state , Rather said opening of business units by different banks promotes healthy competition in providing better services to the people which ultimately goes in the favour of customers. He asked all the 39 Banking Institutions working in the State to strictly follow the guidelines of RBI, adding that the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) is closely monitoring performance of each Bank with regard to
credit flow to priority primary and agriculture sectors. He lauded HDFC for improving CDR to 48% by March 2013, against RBI Governor’s target of 40%.
He said that HDFC is one of India’s premier banks providing wide ranging financial products and services to its 28.5 million customers across 1891 cities and towns across the country, with 53% of its Branches in semi-urban and rural areas. He said within a relatively short span of time, the bank has emerged as a leading player in the retail banking, wholesale banking and treasury operations.
While urging the Banks to provide hassle free credit facilities to the people, Rather called for utilizing loans properly and purposefully.
He also asked the people to repay loan installments regularly as it was imperative for keeping the money cycle in order. He also asked the Banks to behave politely and humbly with customers, which he said, was imperative for maintaining better Bank- Customer Relationship.
The State Head of the HDFC Bank, Zubair Iqbal in his welcome address while highlighting major achievements of the Bank said that the Bank has a national distribution network of 3210 branches and 11088 ATMs and is considered Asia’s No 1 private sector Bank since last 6 years.
He said CDR of the Bank is not only improving but is poised to surpass to 50% by the ending March this fiscal. He said the Bank has made a significant headway in its multichannel servicing strategy in Jammu and Kashmir.
MLC, Ali Mohammad Dar, SP Budgam Irshad Ahmad and concerned officers of the HDFC and district administration Budgam were also present on the occasion.
