Chennai, Sep 10 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said bankers are trustees of depositors' money and urged them to be prudent about non-performing assets (NPA).

Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank Ltd, Mukherjee said bankers should remember that they were trustees of depositors' money, and it is their sacred responsibility to protect the money of those who have reposed trust in them.

Mukherjee said a growing economy like India needs credit expansion but the provisions for NPA has reduced the resources for credit disbursement by commercial banks leading to an undesirable situation.

He pointed out that stressed advances to gross advances of scheduled commercial banks have increased from 10.9 per cent in March 2015 to 11.4 per cent in March 2016.

According to Mukherjee, who was Union Finance Minister before he became president, the aggregate provisions made by all scheduled commercial banks have consequently increased from Rs 73,887 crore for the year March 2015 to Rs 170,630 crore for the year ending March 2016.