MALAPPURAM: Bank deposits in the district have seen a growth of Rs 151 crores during the first quarter of the current financial year. According to the district level banking review, the total bank deposits in the district has grown from Rs 25,769 crores to Rs 25,920 crores. NRI deposits too have increased by 4 per cent during the first quarter despite the crisis in Gulf countries, a major source of money flow to the district. Bank lending has touched Rs 226 crores. The deposit-loan ratio has also increased by one per cent.
The banking review said that the district had witnessed a surge in smallscale entrepreneurs and more were coming up with self employment ventures. Short term agricultural loans with subsidized interest rates top the list of loans. Various banks have given loans worth '10.34 Cr to 499 Kudumbasre units in the district. Rreview meet decided to extend loans to more such ventures. As part of this, agriculture and agriculture-related smallscale initiatives have been included in the MUDRA Bank scheme of the centre which is meant for smallscale industrial ventures.
“The surge in smallscale ventures has a positive influence. Food processing and poultry are the two areas where largescale growth has been registered. Several Gulf returnees too have started exploring these possibilities,” says K. Abdul Jabbar, District Lead Bank Manager, Malappuram. He added that though the pace of money flow from the Gulf had come down, deposits had not seen a considerable change. District had witnessed a 22 per cent rise in expat remittance during FY 2015-16.
