Udupi: ICICI along with other major public and private sector banks will soon float an assets restructuring company to buy the debts of banks totalling over Rs 110 crores, a top official of the bank said.

While the economic slowdown had a negative impact on the manufacturing and agricultural sector, it was only the service sector which recorded a growth of 5 per cent to 5.5 per cent, Narayanan Vaghul, chairman of the ICICI Bank Limited, said.

The profit made by the banking sector had increased to 65 per cent during 2001-02, mainly due to decline in interest rates, he said while receiving the K K Pai National Banking Award carrying a cash award of Rs 25,000, a citation and a plaque bestowed by the K K Pai Trust on June 26.

Earlier, director of Syndicate Bank, N K Thingalaya, urged the Central government to set up a Banking Commission to go into the problems faced by the banking sector.

He said that the Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) had not become successful as most farmers were not using this facility.

Vagul announced that the cash award would be donated to an education trust, providing education to poor children.

PTI