KARACHI: Banks disbursed Rs326 billion in loans to the agriculture sector during the first nine months (July-March) of this fiscal year, a growth of 27.5 per cent over the disbursement of Rs255.7bn during the same period of last year.

However, the disbursed amount constitutes around 65pc of this year’s target of Rs500bn, whereas it should be 75pc (Rs375bn) by now.

The outstanding portfolio of agri loans has also surged by Rs31.6bn (11.2pc) to Rs312.7bn during the period from Rs281bn a year earlier.

Five major banks as a group disbursed Rs167.4bn, or 66.3pc, of their annual target, while two specialised banks (ZTBL and PPCBL) disbursed Rs62.1bn out of their target of Rs101.5bn.

Fifteen domestic private banks collectively disbursed Rs72.1bn (62.4pc), while seven microfinance banks disbursed Rs20.7bn (73.6pc) during the nine-month period.

The four Islamic banks as a group have already surpassed their annual target of Rs2.3bn by disbursing Rs3.7bn.

Amongst the five major banks, MCB Bank has achieved 80.5pc of its annual target, UBL 76.7pc, HBL 75.3pc, NBP 55.3pc, and ABL 45.2pc.

Under the specialised banks category, ZTBL disbursed Rs56.2bn (62.4pc of its target) while PPCBL disbursed Rs5.9bn (50.9pc).

As for the domestic private banks, the Bank of Khyber has achieved 90.4pc of its annual target, Faysal Bank 81.1pc, JS Bank 64.8pc, NIB Bank 58.5pc, Sindh Bank 56.3pc, Bank Al Habib and Bank Alfalah 54.9pc each, Soneri Bank 50.6pc, Silkbank 48.8pc, Summit Bank 46.8pc and Askari Bank and Bank of Punjab 40.9pc each. However, Standard Chartered Bank has already surpassed its annual target of Rs2.5bn by disbursing Rs3.8bn during July-March 2014-15.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2015

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