Plan to issue 25,000 kisan cards to be given

He said the bank also announced 30 per cent dividend on net profit of Rs 101.20 crore during the financial year 1998-99. The dividend, which is expected to result in net outgo of Rs seven crore, has been approved by the board of directors. Sitaramamurthy said the total deposits of the bank had increased from Rs 7,737 crore to Rs 8,847 crore 8211; an increase of 14.35 per cent. The net advances had increased by Rs 709 crore an increase of 17.27 per cent to reach Rs 4,814 crore in 1998-99. The credit-deposit ratio was 58.89 per cent against 51.03 per cent, he added.

However, the increase in the non-performing assets NPAs was a cause for concern for the bank, he conceded, adding that the NPAs had shot up to 8.23 per cent in 1998-99 against 7.40 per cent in the previous year. The bank was taking appropriate measures to check its non-performing assets, he emphasised.