Tripura Gramin Bank tops in business among regional rural banks: Official

Agartala, June 1 (IANS) The Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB), which has posted a net profit of Rs 56.89 crore in last fiscal (2016-17), topped in business among the 56 regional rural banks (RRBs) in the country, the bank's chairman said here on Thursday.

Supervised by United Bank of India (UBI), the TGB, one of India's 56 RRBs, has declared profit for the fifth consecutive year, and the bank's current business volume rose to Rs 7,370 crore.

"The TGB's per branch business has gone up to Rs 51.18 crore in the last fiscal against Rs 46.43 crore in the previous period. Per employee business has also gone up to Rs 9.76 crore in 2016-17 against Rs 8.67 crore in the previous period," TGB chairman Upendra Sabar told reporters.

He said the national average of country-wide RRBs per branch business and per employee business was Rs 25 crore and Rs 6 crore respectively.

According to the official, the TGB's CRAR (Capital to Risk Assets Ratio) has gone to 20.76 per cent in 2016-17 against 18.87 per cent in 2015-16 -- much higher than the Reserve Bank of India's stipulated ratio of 9 per cent.

"The TGB recorded a net profit of Rs 56.89 crore in 2016-17 fiscal, rising by 30 per cent over the previous financial year (2015-16). Since 2013, the bank is making profits and in 2015-16 its net profit was Rs 43.95 crore," the TGB chairman said.

Accompanied by the bank's general manager Dipankar Ambuly, the bank chief said: "The bank (TGB), with 157 branches including 13 ultra small branches (USB) across Tripura, has targeted a net profit of Rs 65 crore-70 crore in the current fiscal (2017-18)."

The TGB, which was set up 41 years ago, lost business due to demonetisation of high value currency by the central government last year.

"Our credit-deposit-ratio (CDR) would have crossed 38 per cent in 2016-17, but because of demonetisation of high value currency by the central government the CDR stuck at around 37 per cent," Sabar said.

Of the 144 regular branches, only one branch in northern Tripura could not achieve profit due to shortage of business.

The bank, which has over 70 per cent branches in rural areas, also has Aadhaar-enabled 225 micro ATMs and 190 business correspondents to hand out money and other banking services at the doorsteps of customers.

TGB, along with three other RRBs -- Assam Gramin Bank, Manipur Gramin Bank and Bangiya Gramin Bank in West Bengal, is sponsored by Kolkata-based UBI.

Sabar said TGB is the first RRB in India to have been accorded permission by the RBI to start treasury function of the Tripura government and open a currency chest.

The bank official said that to encourage entrepreneurship among the rural youth and avoid guarantor system in getting loans from the bank, since last year the Gramin Bank has started forming Joint Liability Group (JLG), and so far 4,084 such groups were formed involving 17,170 people.

"Among the 4,084 JLGs, Rs 46.28 crore has been disbursed with a recovery percentage of 98 per cent against general recovery rate of 65.66 per cent," Sabar added.

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