

Uco Bank sees MSMEs steady amid global headwinds, eyes growth from retail loans
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.State-owned Uco Bank expects its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) portfolio to remain stable despite global headwinds, managing director and chief executive officer Ashwani Kumar told Mint in an interview on Thursday. The bank is eyeing a retail lending boost and is stepping up investments in technology to drive growth, he said.While geopolitical tensions and supply-chain disruptions could have some impact, Kumar expressed confidence that policy support would help cushion the sector.
Uco Bank expects its MSME loan growth to remain around 20% in the current fiscal year. The share of MSME loans in the bank's total advances is nearly 20%.The bank’s MSME loanbook is at around ₹46,000 crore, with special mention account (SMA) exposure in large-ticket MSME loans of ₹1 crore and above accounting for just 1-1.5% of the portfolio.
Slippages have remained contained at about ₹200-250 crore, broadly in line with past trends.“Early warning indicators such as cheque bounces and EMI dishonours have not shown any unusual spike so far," he added, underscoring strengthening of customer outreach to stay ahead of any potential stress.This comes against prolonged challenges for India’s MSME sector. The country has nearly 80 million such enterprises, employing over 328.2 million people and contributing over 31% to the GDP, 35% to manufacturing output and close to half the country's exports.
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