KARACHI: Agriculture credit disbursement has increased by 38 per cent to Rs98 billion during the first quarter of current financial year.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the banks disbursed Rs70.8 billion agriculture credit during the same corresponding period of last fiscal year. The disbursement is almost 20% of the overall annual agriculture credit target of Rs500 billion.
On yearly basis, the outstanding portfolio of agriculture loans has increased by Rs36 billion and reached Rs306 billion from Rs270 billion till the end of September 2014 as compared to same period of previous fiscal year.
Among major banks, Allied Bank and United Bank achieved 24.7 per cent of their respective annual targets while Habib Bank and MCB attained 23.1 per cent and 20 per cent of their annual targets, respectively.
Under the specialised banks category, Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTBL) disbursed Rs7.8 billion, or 8.7 per cent against its target of Rs90 billion, while Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank (PPCBL) disbursed only Rs1.1 billion, or 10 per cent against its target of Rs11.5 billion during the period under review.
Within the 15 domestic private banks, Summit Bank achieved 40.4 per cent, Faysal Bank (31 per cent), Bank Alfalah (30 per cent), Silk Bank (29.2 per cent), Bank of Khyber (26.3 per cent), NIB Bank (25.8 per cent) and Bank Al Habib (23 per cent) of their annual targets during July-September. Standard Chartered Bank disbursed Rs3.5 billion against its annual target of Rs2.5 billion for 2014-15.
Under microfinance category, seven microfinance banks as a group has disbursed Rs 3.1 billion against their annual target of Rs28.2 billion while under Islamic mode of financing, 4 Islamic banks collectively disbursed Rs618.7 million against their targets of Rs2.3 billion to agriculture borrowers.
