South Indian Bank aims 16% loan growth in FY27 amid West Asia war risks

Private sector lender South Indian Bank is aiming for a 15-16 per cent credit growth in FY27, driven by the retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) advances, a top official said on Friday.

The RAM advances, which constitute 61 per cent of the book, are targeted to grow at a higher level of 17-18 per cent by the bank.

"Our festive-season growth strategy is focused on the RAM segment, particularly retail lending and gold loans.

I expect South Indian Bank's overall advances to grow by around 15-16 per cent, with the RAM segment growing slightly faster, at around 17-18 per cent," said Mahesh Muralidhar Pai, managing director and chief executive officer of South Indian Bank, in an interaction with PTI.

In the latest July-September quarter, the bank's gross advances increased by 18.67 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,09,517 crore, up from Rs 92,286 crore in the year-ago period.

Pai said the projection is "cautious" because the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a key risk.

"If the war conti