Performance Appraisal of Location Specific Scheduled Commercial Banks in Financing Punjab Agriculture

Abstract

The present study has been undertaken to examine the performance of location specific Scheduled Commercial Banks in financing agriculture in Punjab. The primary data, which forms the basis of the study, has been collected from 14 rural, semi urban and urban branches of the Punjab National Bank (PNB), selected from five districts of three agro-climatic zones of Punjab. An effort has been made to present the comparative appraisal of financial performance of the Scheduled Commercial Banks operating in rural, semi-urban and urban locations of Punjab on the basis of profitability and liquidity status of the branches and more specifically, their outreach to the agriculture sector. The findings of the study can go a long way in serving as a guide to frame the branch expansion policy of the concerned lending institutions depending on the viability of their operations.