Date:01/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/01/stories/2007090151170200.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

SBT bags award

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has secured the national award for excellence in lending to the mirco-credit and small enterprises sector (MSE) for the year 2006-07.

A press note issued here on Friday said the award was instituted for micro, small and medium enterprises for commercial banks in India. Among the associate banks of the SBI, the SBT has bagged the award.

The award was received by the former Managing Director of SBT K. Sitaraman from Union Minister of Small Scale Industries Mahabir Prasad at a function in New Delhi on August 30. Bank Chief General Manager Pradeep Shankar was also present on the occasion.

The SBT had won the national award for excellence in lending to the SSI sector for the year 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The bank’s finance to the small and medium enterprises sector as on March 31, 2007, was Rs.3,433.71 crore, a growth of 41.22 per cent from March 2006.

The five SME branches of the SBT in Kerala—at Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alapuzha, and Thrissur—had also received the ISO 9001 certification, the press note said.