The private sector lender, Yes Bank is looking to boost its micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) portfolio by Rs 500 crore in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.

As there is pressure on the bad loans front across the banking sector, Yes Bank is eyeing at MSME loan portfolio of Rs 7000 crore in the Jan-March quarter against the target of Rs 7500 crore. The bank's MSME loan portfolio in the Oct- Dec quarter was at Rs 6500 crore.

"MSME lending will be evergreen. We take care of pricing when it comes to NPAs. Our target on MSME loan portfolio was to touch Rs 7,500 crore this fiscal. But we will achieve about Rs 7,000 crore," said Mr. Sanjay Agrawal, Senior President, Business Banking, YES Bank.

Currently, Yes bank's MSME portfolio accounts for around 15 per cent of the total loan book. The total loan book stood at Rs 43,856 crore as on December 31, 2012.