(ET)
The Reserve Bank has further tightened the priority sector lending (PSL) norms for foreign banks by directing them to mandatorily create sub-targets so that they lend a portion of their loans to small and marginal farmers as well as micro enterprises from April.
The move, directed at foreign banks with over 20 branches will impact the likes of Standard Chartered, Citi and HSBC, which much higher branch presence, and will come into force from the next financial year. The PSL norms mandate foreign banks to eventually lend 40 per cent of their total loan book to the priority sector, such as agriculture, rural infra, and MSMEs among others from April 2020.
