Popular belief holds that banking consolidation will result in a small number of large monopoly banks that can achieve substantial economies of scale and outperform small competitors. But research suggests that small banks are sometimes more efficient than their large counterparts. One competitive strategy undertaken by numerous small banks is agricultural lending. Agricultural lending is thoug...

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the development of the Indian economy. It accounts for about 19 percent of GDP and about two thirds of the population is dependent on the sector. (Economic Survey, 2009). Recognizing the importance of agriculture sector in India’s development, the Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have played a vital role in creating a broad-based institutional f...

The study has looked into the institutional credit in relation with agricultural productivity in Jammu & Kashmir. The results have revealed that although the credit deployment of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) to agriculture has increased in absolute terms, its percentage share in the total credit outstanding has declined sharply. The intensity of agricultural credit has also declined over t...

In recent history, it looked to many as if rural financial markets would become dominated by large banks that offered relatively expensive credit to agricultural firms. However, the 1990's have seen a resurgence in smaller banks with a focus on smaller, agricultural producer loans. Moreover, small banks may be more competitive than ever with respect to interest rates. This report outlines some ...

This study employs a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model to study the relationship between survival time and bank-specific determinants of failure of commercial and agricultural banks during the recent recessionary period. Results indicate that non-performing consumer and commercial loans have seriously impaired banks‟ financial health and survival.

One of the present phenomena that virtually explain weaknesses in financial systems of different countries is financial repression. Financial repression encompasses the different interferences of governments in financial markets through determining the ceiling interest on bank deposits, high rates of legal reserves, and the government’s interference in distribution of bank credits,which prevent...

This study examines the reasons farmers in East-Central Illinois continue to use controversial agricultural practices in the context of extreme criticism. Such practices – conventional plow tillage, application of potent agricultural chemicals, farming up to river banks – are attacked from diverse sources as inattentive to environmental conservation. Our results suggest these practices are impo...