In a bid to provide faster information to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), public sector banks will set up an integrated call centre.

With SMEs coming under severe strain amid the global slowdown, the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has mooted the idea of setting up an integrated call centre for all government-owned banks. Most banks have given their approval to the idea and would soon start working on the modalities.

The proposed call centre will provide information on products offered to micro, small and medium enterprises, the rate of interest charged by various banks on advances to the sector and locations of MSME branches across the country, among others. The call centre will also have links with all banks so as to connect an individual directly to a particular bank, if the person desires to. “Most banks have their own call centres and if anyone wants information regarding any banking scheme, a customer needs to call each bank separately. It takes a lot of time. Hence, the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises in a meeting held last week proposed to set up the common call centre and all banks have nodded in favour of the proposal,” S Raman, executive director of Union Bank of India told Financial Chronicle. “Since, the proposed call centre will provide information regarding interest rates charged by various banks, a customer can also make a comparative judgement and go to the bank that provides the best deal.” MSMEs are going through a trying phase amid the global slowdown and both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government have announced a series of steps in the past few months to rescue this sector. To increase credit flow to the MSME sector, RBI has also announced a refinance facility of Rs 7,000 crores for Sidbi, mainly to support incremental lending, either directly to MSMEs or indirectly via banks and non-banking finance companies.

Also, the government has increased the cover on loan under Credit Guarantee Scheme for micro and small enterprises from Rs 50,00,000 to Rs 1 crore with a guarantee cover of 50 per cent. The lock-in period for loans covered under the existing credit guarantee scheme has been reduced from 24 to 18 months, basically to encourage banks to cover more loans under the guarantee scheme.