Bankers have expressed concern over the decline in CD (credit-deposit) ratio in Dakshina Kannada district.
Participating in the district-level review committee meeting for banking development here on Tuesday, Mr J.S. Shenoy, deputy general manager of Syndicate Bank, said that CD ratio in the district is showing a declining trend for the past three years.
The CD ratio of the district, which was 56.90 per cent in 2009-10, came down to 53.50 per cent in 2011-12.
Mr Hemanth Bhide, chief manager, Lead Bank (Syndicate Bank is the Lead Bank in Dakshina Kannada), said that among the five blocks in Dakshina Kannada, Belthangady recorded a highest CD ratio of 109.40 per cent, followed by Sullia at 84.30 per cent and Puttur at 64.75 per cent. The CD ratio of Bantwal block was 54.70 per cent and Mangalore was 50.13 per cent.
Mr Vijaykumar A., manager, RBI, Bangalore, said that declining trend in CD ratio is a worrisome factor. Bankers have not achieved CD ratio of 60 per cent, which is the benchmark prescribed by the RBI.
Banks with less than 60 per cent CD ratio should accelerate lending. Disbursements in tertiary sector such as segments like housing and education needs improvement, he said.
Mr Bhide said that banks should take steps to increase the credit off take in the district, and strive to achieve a CD ratio of 60 per cent during the current fiscal.
Mr K.N. Vijaya Prakash, chief executive officer of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, and Mr Prasad Rao, Assistant General Manager of Nabard, aired their views on the occasion.