Kerala floods: SBI donates Rs 2 crore for victims, announces waiver of fees and charges on services offered

New Delhi: As Kerala reels under heavy flood, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Saturday donated Rs 2 crore for the flood-affected victims in the state. The Bank also initiated several other ground-level measures in the deluged state.

Encouraging all its 270,000 staffers to contribute to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), the bank said that it would contribute an equivalent amount.

SSBI also announced a waiver of fees and charges on services like loans for flood relief, duplicate passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books and EMI delays, besides making attempts to restore the working of branches and ATMs in the flood-affected regions of the state.

Besides, the SBI has decided to waive all charges on remittance to the CMDRF, penalty on non-maintenance of minimum account balance from proceeds of relief fund provided by the government and agencies and if already recovered, such charges would be refunded for customers in the state.

The bank has extended Xpress Credit to existing customers with relaxed norms for a month, deployed cash at PoS (Point of Sale) to enable people to avail Rs 2,000 to meet daily cash requirements across the state.

Persons who have lost or misplaced personal documents can open small accounts with only photos and signature or thumb impressions and all employees of SBI deployed to address requirements of the customers and ensure best possible service.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Kerala to witness the massive loss and destruction triggered by the torrential rains. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured, from Prime Minister's National Relief Funds (PMNRF).

As many as 324 people have lost their lives, thousands displaced or stranded as incessant rains pounded Kerala since the past few weeks, causing havoc in 12 districts.

(With inputs from agencies)