Kerala Bank earns Rs 374 crore in 4 months

Kerala Bank has earned a revenue of Rs 374.75 crore in four months since its formal inception in November 2019, cooperation minister Kadakampally Surendran said recently revealing the first balance sheet of the bank. Braving several odds, Kerala Bank has come into being in last November by amalgamating 13 district cooperative banks and the state cooperative bank.

The Malappuram district cooperative bank stood against the merger and continues to function as a separate entity. During 2019-20 fiscal, the bank did business worth Rs 1,01,194 crore. During the merger, the cumulative loss of the banks was Rs 1,150.75 crore. In four months, the cumulative loss could be brought down to Rs 776 crore, the minister said.

The Covid related financial stress has disrupted the loan repayment flow, leading to a spurt in NPAs. The bank has a reserve capital of Rs 1543.44 crore, Kadakampally said. The bank has seen a spurt of Rs 1525.8 crore in investments and an increase of Rs 2,026.40 crore in loans. Kadakampally said the bank would soon introduce a new loan scheme worth Rs 1,000 crore which is aimed at providing 17,000 new employment opportunities.

With the backing of NABARD, 10 mobile-banking vans would soon hit the roads and 1,500 micro ATMs would be installed. In order to simplify the recovery proceedings, the bank would soon launch a onetime settlement scheme. NABARD sponsored food processing industry loan and agro industry loans would soon be launched, the minister said. During the current fiscal, farmer loans worth Rs 1,543.44 crore was distributed through primacy cooperative societies. A total of Rs 3,676.49 crore was given out as gold loan, Rs 425.86 crore as mortgage loan and Rs 195.83 crore as housing loan. In addition to this, cooperatives were given loan worth Rs 2,887.35 crore during the current financial year.