New Delhi: Finance minister P Chidambaram today asked public sector bank chiefs to take steps to moderate credit growth to high risk sectors like commercial real estate and capital markets, while making credit available at "correct prices" to productive sectors.

At a meeting with bank chief executives Chidambaram also asked them to open new branches in the 103 minority dominated districts.

Later addressing the media, Chidambaram said that the government had advised banks that credit growth of about 30 per cent has to be moderated therefore they had to rebalance their portfolio and moderate credit growth to what RBI calls high-risk sectors like commercial real estate, capital markets and systemically important NBFCs.

"We have impressed upon them that they have to rebalance their portfolio so that adequate credit at correct prices is made available to productive sectors," he said adding that bank chairmen had said that they had already started rebalancing their portfolios in the second half of 2006-07 and would proceed with it this year, too.

"Banks have been advised that while keeping their long term portfolio (in mind), they should protect the interests of home loan borrowers taking loans of Rs 8-10 lakh, to the extent possible," secretary (financial sector) Vinod Rai told reporters after Chidambaram''s meeting with PSU bankers.

The finance minister said that banks have been cautioned against raising bulk deposits at high cost in the months of February and March, terming this kind of a trend a "vicious circle".

He said if banks had raised bulk deposits at high costs in February and March this year, they would do it again in February and March the next year. The Indian Banks Association will now evolve guidelines on raising bulk deposits at high cost.