Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday said that the able administration of the Centre and tough regulatory measures adopted by the Reserve Bank of India and others had made the banks in India to successfully withstand the global financial crisis.
Speaking at a function held here after opening a new branch of Indian Overseas Bank, he said the active and effective role of officials and others, who effectively applied the rules and regulations, had also played a role in resisting the crisis.
It was not that the banks in India had survived the crisis but also grew at excellent rate at a time when many banks had become bankrupt in the United States, European countries, France and others.
They (banks in western countries) were still facing problems in the backdrop of global turmoil. Mr. Chidambaram added that while the trend of closing down of banks had been continuing elsewhere in the world, not even a single bank was closed in India.
In fact many new branches were being opened across the country. It showed that Indian banks were fundamentally strong and also administered effectively. Stating that the Indian Overseas Bank had contributed a lot to the nation building, Mr. Chidambaram said that it had serviced mostly the rural masses of the country.
M. Narendra, Chairman and Managing Director, IOB, said that the bank, which was started in this region [Karaikudi], had huge presence in Tamil Nadu. Paganeri branch was 20th branch of IOB in Sivaganga district and 2017th branch in the country.
Collector V. Sampath, T. Veerappan, General Manager, M. Ramadoss, Chief Regional Manager and others spoke. Earlier, the Minister gave away loans to the tune of Rs.27.26 lakh to various beneficiaries.
