SBI should be able to build a book of Rs 2,000 crore through expanded ECLGS: Dinesh Khara

IBA chairman Rajkiran Rai G said the products have been standardised with approvals from all public sector banks’ boards last week.

The largest lender State Bank of India’s (SBI) chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Sunday said that as per preliminary assessment, the bank should be able to build a book of Rs 2,000 crore through expanded emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS). Khara made this comment at a joint press conference of SBI and Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) to launch standardised Covid loan products by public sector banks.

Earlier in the day, Finance Ministry had enlarged the scope of the Rs 3 lakh crore ECLGS to cover loans up to Rs 2 crore for setting up on-site oxygen generation plants at healthcare facilities and brought in the ailing civil aviation sector under its ambit.

Khara said that public sector banks have come up with three sets of products to build a ‘Covid book’ under Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) liquidity scheme and the ECLGS. The relief measures include a healthcare business loan for setting up oxygen plants, healthcare facilities and unsecured personal loans for Covid-19 treatment.

The rate of interest for business loans given for setting up oxygen plant under ECLGS will be capped at 7.5%, and the repayment can be done in five years. The banks have not specified rates for other healthcare facility loans. However, the rate of interest will stand at 8.5% at SBI, Khara said. Apart from it, borrowers can avail loans of Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh for Covid-19 treatment with a tenure of five years.

IBA chairman Rajkiran Rai G said the products have been standardised with approvals from all public sector banks’ boards last week.

He also said that customers opting for restructuring will have to apply for recast on the website or manually at a bank branch. RBI on May 5 had allowed lenders to carry out a fresh round of restructuring of retail and MSME accounts. The resolution process will be invoked in 30 days and the last day for invocation is September 30, 2021. Thereafter, the resolution plan will be implemented within 90 days, or latest by December 31, 2021. The moratorium period on loans will be a maximum of two years, starting soon after invocation.