Mumbai: Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram told bankers that the reform process will continue and its fruits should reach as large a base as possible.

The Minister explained the stance of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government on the reform process and said that the fruits of reforms should reach as large a base as possible, Union Bank of India CMD V Leeladhar said.

Chidambaram also sought suggestions from the banks on how to carry forward the reform process and achieve this objective, the source said.

The whole process should also lead to employment generation, the Minister told the bankers.

The bankers in their interaction informed the Minister that banks were now comfortable in extending project finance including that for power, road and ports, and a few power projects were on the verge of attaining financial closure, according to another public sector bank chief.

The banks, with their vast network of rural and semi-urban branches, were also extending assistance to the credit demands coming from the agriculture sector, the bankers said.

Some of the bankers who attended the meeting are State Bank of India chairman A K Purwar, Bank of Baroda CMD P S Shenoy, ICICI Bank deputy managing director Kalpana Morparia, Union Bank of India CMD V Leeladhar, Punjab National Bank CMD S S Kohli, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and HDFC Bank managing director Aditya Puri.