Union Minister Piyush Goyal Asks Bankers To Ensure Enhanced, Affordable Credit To MSME Exporters

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asked banks to ensure enhanced and affordable credit to MSME exporters with a view to boosting the country's outbound shipments.

This was stated in a meeting called by the ministry on June 28 to discuss ways of enhancing the availability of export credit to MSME exporters.

The minister "has asked the Indian banks to ensure enhanced and affordable credit to MSMEs to achieve the target of USD one trillion merchandise exports," the ministry said in a statement.

The meeting was convened by the Department of Commerce in coordination with Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Limited (ECGC).

It was attended by top officials of 21 banks which included State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Central Bank of India, among others. A presentation on 'Export Credit and Export Credit Insurance for Banks (ECIB)' was made by CMD ECGC M Senthilnathan.

Based on ECGC's experience under the scheme of enhanced cover,  the corporation has now proposed further modifications to make available adequate and affordable credit to a larger section of MSME exporters.

"The product facilitates the borrower accounts to be treated equivalent to 'AA' rated accounts with reduced cost of export credit to the exporters," it said.

Goyal said ECGC can examine the extension of the scheme proposed for nine banks, to all the banks, so that the export credit offtake for the exporters can be increased.

Bankers suggested that ECGC should adopt a claim processing method similar to Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), for which the minister advised ECGC to follow a pattern on similar lines to compensate for their loss.