Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 7 (IANS): Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), the state's own financial institution, recorded an all-time high portfolio of Rs 4,700 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2021 (FY 21).
The provisional figures that have come out show that its business grew by Rs 1,349 crore as compared to FY 20. Likewise, its loan approvals and repayments also increased significantly during the same period.
In FY 21, loan approvals amounting to Rs 4,139 crore were issued, up by 244 per cent over the previous financial year. Similarly, loan disbursements also increased from Rs 1,447 crore to Rs 3,729 crore in the same period.
Even during the Covid crisis, loan repayments increased from Rs 1,082 crore in the previous fiscal to Rs 2,833 crore in FY 21, while interest income rose to Rs 436 crore from Rs 334 crore.
"Our goal for the year was a complete overhaul of the KFC. Rather than being an ordinary financial institution, KFC has remodelled itself to become an institution that offers customised loans and exemplary services to varied business sectors," said Tomin J. Thachankari, the CMD of KFC.
Thachankari, who holds the rank of Director General of Police and was brought in last year by the state government, also pointed out that the centralisation of the credit process and providing the opportunity for clients to interact directly with the top officials, including the CMD, have expedited the growth.
KFC also created a record of sorts when it sanctioned new loans of Rs 256 crore to 419 industries which were struggling due to the Covid crisis. It reduced the base lending interest rate to 8 per cent as it was able to raise funds at 6.5 per cent.
Incidentally, one reason why KFC was able to do well with regards to repayment of loans was on account of its decision to share the information of the defaulters with CIBIL. About 24,000 records have been uploaded so far.
Among the financial institutions under the government of Kerala, KFC is the first to share defaulters' data with CIBIL. In addition, data is also being shared with other credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian and CRIF Highmark.