Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a meeting with the heads of public sector banks, important issues will be discussed

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of public sector banks (PSBs) today, to discuss various issues including the status of debt offtake. The meeting is part of efforts to revive the economy affected by the Corona virus epidemic.

Meeting will be done through video conferencing

Sources said that this meeting will be done through video conferencing. In this, the progress of the scheme to extend the benefit of reduction in the interest rate to the borrowers and grant of loan from banks for repayment of loan installments will also be reviewed.

RBI has reduced repo rate and reverse repo rate

On March 27, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its policy interest rate (repo rate) by 0.75 percent. Apart from this, the Reserve Bank had also announced a relief in repayment of installments for three months to repay the installments of the lenders affected by the lockdown. Earlier this month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with the heads of public and private sector banks. He took stock of the economic situation in the meeting and reviewed the implementation of various measures of assistance such as granting various deferments announced by the central bank.

Measures will also be discussed for NBFCs

Sources said that the issue of additional capital for banks through reverse repo can also be put up for discussion in Monday's meeting. In addition, the progress of Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) targeted for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and allocations of loans under the Covid-19 Emergency Loan Facility will also be reviewed.

Under the emergency loan facility, borrowers can avail loans up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the existing fund based working capital. Its maximum limit is 200 crores. Public sector banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 42,000 crore to MSME sector and other companies (micro, small and medium enterprises) since the start of the lockdown.

The finance minister had said that 3.2 crore borrowers have benefited under the 'Relief from payment of loan installments for three months' scheme announced by the Reserve Bank. He had tweeted, "PSB has completed the relief of repayment of loan installments as per RBI recommendations. By further extending this benefit effectively, more than 3.2 crore accounts are assured of three months relief. Happened. Quick resolution of doubts allayed customers' concerns. This ensured responsible banking work during lockdown. "

Public sector banks sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore

Sitharaman also said that public sector banks sanctioned loans of Rs 5.66 lakh crore during March-April. Their distribution will start soon after the lockdown is lifted, which will speed up economic activities. He said that public sector banks approved loans worth Rs 77,383 crore between March 1 and May 4 to help NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) to maintain a steady flow of loans.