Finance Minister P Chidambaram will meet heads of public sector banks on Monday to take stock of their concern amid moderating growth and slowdown in investment.
The broad agenda of the meeting is likely to include direct benefit transfer, deteriorating asset quality and credit growth.
Chidambaram is likely to ask banks to increase lending to productive sectors to prop up growth, media reports quoted sources, as saying.
The high-profile meeting will be held a day before mid-quarter review of monetary policy by RBI. It is widely expected that RBI may reduce policy rates to prop up growth.
The meeting is also likely to review banks” system and procedure to check money laundering activities in the light of recent sting operation allegedly showing some officials of three private sector banks indulging in such activities.
Deteriorating asset quality of banks may also come up for discussion during the meeting.
————ANI