Government-owned Allahabad bank is hopeful to maintain a growth of 18 percent in the current fiscal as major parts of its sanctions get disbursed.

According to JP Dua, the new chief of the bank, the lender has sanctions of 200 billion rupees at present, a major part of which is likely to be disbursed in the current fiscal.

The chief said, "We expect major part of sanctioned loans to get disbursed as busy season picks up."

The bank also expects an 18 percent rise in agricultural loans as paddy and sugarcane farmers have started borrowing more to aid higher yields.

"We are based in a region rich in paddy and sugarcane farming. Demand from the sector is expected to rise as the year ends," he said.

Allahabad bank has its headquarters in West Bengal. The bank expects a rise of 15 percent in retail loans in current fiscal due to demand in home loans and car loans.

The bank has a total loan book size of 600 billion rupees.

Infrastructure and agriculture lending constitutes 50 percent of the loan book of the bank. The non performing assets (NPAs) of the bank formed a meagre 0.35 percent of the net advances at the end of September 2009 as against 0.72 percent in the corresponding period the previous year. It shows that the banks asset quality is one of the best in the industry.