NRI deposits in Kerala banks cross Rs.1 lakh crore

Deposits of non-residents (NRs) in Kerala banks have crossed Rs.1 lakh crore in the last fiscal, said a State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) report released here on Monday.

NR deposits in Kerala banks have been growing over the years. From Rs.66,190 crore in March 2013, these climbed to Rs.93,883 crore by March 31, 2014, and further to Rs.1,09,603 crore in the last fiscal, the report said.

Kerala's State Bank of Travancore (SBT) was leading with deposits of Rs.26,613 crore by the state's immigrants, followed closely by Federal Bank with Rs.23,214 crore.

The State Bank of India has a total NR deposit of Rs.14,456 crore.

One interesting aspect of non-resident deposits is that NR deposits in all 21 nationalised banks in the state add up to Rs.23,203 crore, less than such deposits with the SBT and the Federal Bank considered separately.

The latest study report of S. Irudayarajan said that 90 percent of Kerala's 23.63 lakh diaspora is working in Middle-East countries, of which United Arab Emirates accounts for 38.7 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia at 25.2 percent.

The exchange rate of US dollar to Indian rupee was Rs.54.28 on March 31, 2013, Rs.60.05 on March 31, 2014, and Rs.62.33 on March 31, 2015.

The SLBC report points out that the total number of branches of all banks in Kerala stands at 5,984 and 8,477 ATMs.

Total bank deposits in Kerala in the last fiscal stood at Rs.3,19,890 crore, up from Rs.2,79,655 crore in March 2014, while the total advances extended by these banks grew from Rs.1,92,010 crore in March 2014 to Rs.2,18,706 crore in the last fiscal.