Under this MoU, JCB will nominate Karnataka Bank as its "preferred financier" where in individuals/contractors/company /partnership firms/LLP etc., can avail loans from the bank at competitive interest rates for purchasing a wide range of equipment from the product line of JCB India.

The bank said that the MoU is expected to boost the lending avenues under the bank's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) portfolio.

Mahabaleshwara M.S, managing director & CEO of Karnataka Bank, said: "In line with our focus on credit growth, bank is at the forefront of financing MSMEs and we are indeed delighted to have signed MoU with JCB as they mirror similar values of excellence, integrity and sustainable development. Our bank is providing various finance schemes for purchase of machineries/ equipments to our customers with attractive rate of interest and speedy sanction of loans through digital platform."

Karnataka Bank is a scheduled commercial bank. The bank's standalone net profit soared to Rs 130.35 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 31.37 crore in Q4 FY21. Total income rose 5.8% YoY to Rs 1,835.68 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

Shares of Karnataka Bank rose 0.88% to close at Rs 69.15 on Friday, 15 July 2022.