Bank of Maharashtra sanctions Rs 2,789 crore loans in three months to MSMEs, others

Bank of Maharashtra on Sunday said that it has sanctioned loans totaling Rs 2,789 crore to MSMEs, self-help groups, agricultural and retail borrowers in the last three months. The loans have been disbursed so as to help the borrowers meet their liquidity mismatches arising out of the coronavirus crisis. "We have sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 2,789 crore under agriculture, SHGs, Retail, MSMEs with almost one lakh beneficiaries between March 2020 and May 2020," Bank of Maharashtra said in a statement.

Various channels such as webinars, calls, SMSes and emails have been used by the state-owned bank to raise awareness about these credit lines and to reach out to its borrowers, Bank of Maharashtra said.

The bank also said that it is currently preparing to extend the economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman aimed at resuming business activities. Sitharaman, last week, had announced a 100 per cent credit scheme worth Rs 3 lakh crore to support the MSME sector. The 100 per cent guarantee scheme at the concessional rate of 9.25 per cent was the second-biggest component of the Rs 20 lakh crore comprehensive package. Currently, the rate of interest on loans given by banks to the MSME sector varies from Rs 9.5 per cent to 17 per cent, depending on the risk perception.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman on Friday held a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks and asked them to implement the mega "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" relief package to revive the coronavirus hit economy. The meeting via video conferencing took place in the backdrop of the Rs 21 lakh crore stimulus package announcement and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) coming out with fresh measures, including interest rate cuts.

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