AMN / MUMBAI
UNION Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman has asked Indian Banks Association to do digitized location-wise mapping of all bank branches for every district of the nation. She asked IBA to decide where banks should have a physical presence and where we can serve customers even without physical branch. She was addressing the 74th Annual General Meeting of Indian Banks Association in Mumbai.
She said, through a rationalized approach and optimal utilization of digital technologies, we need to improve access of banking in every district. Finance minister appreciated bankers for ensuring the amalgamation did not create inconvenience customers. She said, India needs four or five more SBIs, we need to scale up banking to meet changing requirements in light of shifting recent realities of economy and industry.
Finance Minister said, Eastern region of this country has more than adequate CASA, (Current Account Saving Account) but there are no takers for credit. She asked bankers to address this issue and see how you can lend in those regions, in states such as Bihar, Orissa etc. Finance Minister started her address by paying humble homage to all in banking industry who lost their lives serving the nation through the COVID19 pandemic. She said, In the payment world today, Indian UPI has actually made a very big impression.
Rupay card is now accepted in so many different parts of the world, symbolic of India’s futuristic digital payment intentions. She praised IBA for the coming together of eight banks to form the Account Aggregator Framework. This will give tailor-made portfolios for people to choose from; people will be encouraged to voluntarily share their data. This will improve credit outreach going forward.