Canara Bank Deputy General Manager S. Krishnan (Visakhapatnam Circle) inaugurated the SME-Sulabh (SME hub) at Patamata branch in the city on Saturday.
The SME hub is a specialised body set up for speedy processing of loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). The centre will act on SME loan applications received from Krishna, Guntur, Prakasham and Nellore districts and sanction advances within three days, said the DGM.
Assistant General Manager (Visakhapatnam) Shabbir Hussain, Vijayawada Divisional Managar C.V.S. Murthy, Guntur Branch Chief Manager Ramakrishna Rao and other officers accompanied the DGM.
Addressing the newsmen later, Mr. Krishnan said the SME-Sulabh will be headed by Chief Manager V. Ravindra and the target for the new centre was Rs.100 crore for the current financial year. Already, proposals worth Rs.150 crore have come from Guntur district, said the DGM and sanctioned advances worth Rs.3 crore for SMEs immediately.
Stating that there was a good activity from spinning mills, rice and ginning mills, granite, tobacco and other industries in Guntur, Prakasham and other coastal districts, the Dy.GM said 20 percent growth was observed from SMEs every year.
To encourage MSMEs, Canara Bank was offering concession on interest rates for women entrepreneurs on processing charges.
