Agri credit disbursement rises by over 8%

[LahoreEstate]

KARACHI: Disbursement of credit to the agriculture sector by commercial and specialised banks increased by 8.22 percent year-on-year to Rs 130.342 billion during the first eight months (July-February) of current fiscal year.

In absolute terms, it rose by Rs 9.90 billion from Rs 120.442 billion disbursed during the same period of last fiscal year (2007-08).

Credit disbursement by Allied Bank, Habib Bank, MCB Bank, National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank—the five major commercial banks—stood at Rs 62.632 billion compared with Rs 58.026 billion during the same period of last fiscal year, depicting an increase of Rs 4.606 billion or 8 percent.

Zarai Taraqiati Bank, the largest specialized bank, disbursed Rs 38.427 billion compared with Rs 33.012 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year. Disbursement by Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank stood at Rs 3.464 billion compared with Rs 3.873 billion during the same period last fiscal year.

Besides, 14 domestic private banks also loaned a combined Rs 25.818 billion, up by 1.13 percent when compared with Rs 25.530 billion disbursed in last year.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg5_4