Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 27 - Deposits by non-resident Indians (NRIs) in Kerala banks grew marginally from Rs.37,019 crore in March 2009 to Rs.37,983 crore as on June 30.

These figures were released at a State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting held here Thursday.

The State Bank group bagged the highest share -- 42.88 percent -- of the total NRI deposits with Rs.16,058 crore.

Private sector banks, which received Rs.10,703 crore or 28.18 percent share, came second, while other nationalised banks accounted for 27.8 percent share with Rs.10,559 crore.

It was in March 2007 that the NRI deposits peaked to touch Rs.33,330 crore but they had a fall the next year when they touched Rs.29,889 crore.

Of the total NRI deposits, Rs.25,857 crore came to the semi-urban areas of the state.

There are more than two million Keralites settled outside the country of which close to 90 percent are in the Middle East countries.