With a view to help the farmers the Punjab Government has directed its district central cooperative banks to broad base its loan portfolio to increase its profitability and design it in such a manner so that maximum financial benefits should reach to the poorest of the poor amongst the farmers.While reviewing the annual performance analysis of various state cooperative banks here today Punjab financial commissioner cooperation and chairman Punjab State Cooperative Bank Ltd. Mr. V.K. Singh said the business of the banks should not be curtailed and various kinds of loaning services must be provided to the needy farmers in a transparent manner.Expressing his disappointment over the distress being faced by the farmers, he said the cooperative banks could play a vital role in stressing out the farmers from this distress by providing soft loans to them at reasonable rate of interest.
He also advised the banking officials to counsel the distressed farmers against taking extreme steps like suicides. He suggested that banks should hold meetings and workshops at village level and invite expert speakers on this occasion to counsel farmers on this subject.On the occasion the managing directors and district managers presented a complete analysis of their respective banks before the financial commissioner cooperation and also shared the financial performance for the year 2016-17.Mr VK Singh suggested the banks to design more farmer friendly loan schemes so that they can avail loans at competitive rate of interest and wean them away from the very high interest regime of the unorganized sector like money lenders. He said the cooperative banks have a long association with the farmers of more than 100 years. He informed that presently the cooperative banks were advancing crop loans of nearly Rs. 12500 crore to nearly 9 lac farmers in the State 75% of which belong to the small and marginal farmers categories.