FM urges banks to ensure loan waiver transparency

Finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday asked bankers to check the accuracy and integrity of statements being made by agricultural borrowers to ensure that they are eligible to claim money in the farm debt waiver and debt relief scheme. Addressing Mumbai-based heads of public sector banks (PSBs) in the city today, he urged them to ensure that the scheme was being implemented transparently. All the banks have been asked to submit a list of eligible borrowers in rural areas by June-end.

The finance minister asked the bankers to claim reimbursements after disbursing the loan waivers to farmers and said they would come in phases. The first tranche of funds was likely to come from the government by July-end. Bank of Baroda CMD M D Mallya said, “We are preparing the list; I have asked all supervisory officers to verify the list before finalising it”.

Chidambaram released the Code of Bank’s Commitment to Micro and Small Enterprises, brought out by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India in collaboration with the Indian Banks’ Association. He noted, “MSEs play a very important role in the Indian economy. For years, they have been in the clutches of money lenders who charged them erroneous interests. Banks must extend credit to them and nurture them as they employ the uneducated and less trained.”