The Hindu Business Line : The postman will fetch bank loan too!

Banks that do not have branches in villages in the State are tying up with post offices to deliver credit to those living in remote areas. The Indian Banks Association, jointly with postal authorities in Maharashtra, are working on a scheme under which post offices will act as agents of banks. "Based on the scheme, a pilot project will be launched shortly, " said a bank official. At least six banks are expected to participate in the pilot project, he said.

Under the proposed scheme, a bank branch located at a town will sign an MoU with the post office that caters to the nearby villages. The postmen attached to that post office will identify potential borrowers following the RBI's `know-your- customer' guidelines.

The post office would provide the bank details of the borrower. It would also help the borrower to fill up loan application form and complete other paper works. The bank on assessing the credit worthiness of the borrower, will release the amount by cheque, through the post office.

The maximum amount a single borrower can get under this general-purpose loan is Rs 20,000. And as this loan does not come under priority sector lending, the rate of interest would be decided by individual bank based on the risk perception, said the official.

Ms K. Noorjehan, Chief Postmaster-General, Maharashtra, Circle, said banks have agreed to pay Rs 600 per loan, irrespective of the amount (maximum Rs 2,000) to the post office. This amount will be shared with the postman, postmaster and other clerical staff who helped in filling up the loan application and other paper work. "Since it is not post office work, the staff need to be given some incentives," she said.

Maharashtra has over 11,000 post offices in rural areas. "Initially, we will identify some post offices in consultation with banks for the purpose," said Ms Noorjehan. The objective of the exercise is to enable banks to meet their rural credit targets, she said.

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