State Bank Group chairman Pratip Chaudhuri has said that the State Bank has been approached to finance the Vizhinjam International Container Transshipment project and Kochi Metro Rail project.
Chaudhuri told mediapersons here on Wednesday that a decision in this regard would be taken only after deciding on the repayment mode. Financial assistance will be given only after considering the type of project, implementation and repayment. Commenting on financing the High Speed Rail Corridor and Kochi Metro Rail, he said that the repayment period would be 15 to 20 years. A mistake should not be made by sanctioning short term loans for these projects, he said.
Chaudhuri said that at present the State Bank was supporting all ventures in Kerala as the majority of the deposits are from the state. On funding the flyovers in the state, he said that it depended on the funding pattern.
Even if the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cuts the repo rate, the interest rate will not come down. To make the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) more effective, there should be a system to provide interest rate by RBI for CRR.
Referring to the recovery of loan given to Kingfisher, Pratip Chaudhuri said that the bank had started the recovery procedure. There are assets which can be easily recovered and it is time consuming to sell the properties, Chaudhuri said.
He also hinted that a bank will be merged with the State Bank within two years.