State Bank of India (SBI) will be focusing more on extending microfinance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) through the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).
Speaking at the inaugural of a national conference on micro finance organised by State Bank Institute of Rural Development (SBIRD) here on Monday, Dibakar Mohanty, Chief General Manager (Financial Inclusion & Microfiannce), SBI, said the stress in micro finance and SHG portfolio was relatively lower and asked the branch officials to extend microfinance to the eligible on a top priority basis.
SBI branches must finance candidates trained by rural self employment institutes to enable them to start their own small enterprises for livelihood, Mohanty added. About 11,000 branches of SBI had already financed SHGs.
According to M Jayashree Reddy, General Manager & Principal, SBIRD, the two-day conference will draw out strategies for improving bank’s market share in SHG finance.
"Being a big player in banking in the country, SBI will be at the forefront to extend microfinance to small borrowers for their livelihood,'' she added.