Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said that the process started by the Reserve Bank of India on issuing new bank licenses would not be affected by the model code of conduct. During his interaction with reporters after reviewing the performance of public sector banks, he said normal government functioning will not come to a halt following the announcement of elections. He said that the Cabinet will continue to take decisions within the limitations imposed by the model code of conduct. He asked public sector banks to focus on recovery of non-performing assets or bad loans, which happen to be high among large corporate accounts. Addressing a press conference after reviewing the performance of PSU banks yesterday, the Finance Minister also said that credit disbursal to medium-sized industry has declined and it was only satisfactory in the agricultural sector.