Lakshmi Vilas Bank would continue to focus on the retail and SME segment, its Chief Executive and Managing Director Parthasarathi Mukherjee said.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the 2-day SME Expo now underway at Suguna Kalyana Madapam in Coimbatore, he said that the 90-year-old institution has identified SME and retail as its DNA, and would therefore continue to focus on these segments.

“However, going forward, the bank would offer these in digital channels as well to add further impetus to the business,” he added.

He conceded that the SME segment’s growth remained reasonably flat during the third quarter of the current fiscal. “Our intial expectations was a robust growth. But we will now be comfortable even if the present growth momentum is sustained. We are targeting a 15 per cent growth,” he said in reply to a question.

The bank added SME credit of Rs. 2,500 crore to Rs. 3,000 crore to its loan book during the last fiscal of which the loans to the MSME segment alone is said to have accounted for Rs. 1,500 crore.

To yet another query on SMEs complaint about inadequate finance support from banks in general, Mukherjee said “I deal with public money; so will have to take care that I get the money back. We have been selective in lending. Again, I am not in the race; am looking at quality loan book rather than large-sized book.”

On capital, he said that the bank raised Rs. 168 crore at the close of the just ended calendar year. “We are comfortably placed for the next 15 to 18 months. Nevertheless, we will continue to look at quality investors to engage them.”

Source: The Business Line