NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, SEP 26
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said many districts in the country lack banking presence despite high level of economic activity taking place in those areas.
Addressing at the Annual General Meeting of Indian Bank’s Association (IBA), Sitharaman asked lenders to augment efforts of deepening presence.
आज Indian Banks' Association के 74 वे Annual General Meeting को संबोधित किया। बैंकिंग व्यवस्था को सुदृढ़ बनाने में तथा #FinancialInclusion और #DigitalLiteracy बढ़ाने में सदस्य बैंकों का महत्वपूर्ण योगदान हैं। pic.twitter.com/ZuL32AcYHj
— Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad (मोदी का परिवार) (@DrBhagwatKarad) September 26, 2021
Giving the lenders the option to decide which place requires banking presence through a brick-and-mortar model and where a step-down presence would help, Sitharaman made it clear that at the same time, she is not against digitalisation and efforts.
She said the banks’ books are much cleaner now and this will help the government as the recapitalisation requirements go down.
The finance minister also said the upcoming National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARC) should not be called a “bad bank” as it is called in the US.
Banks need to be nimble and understand every unit’s need to achieve the USD 400 billion exports target, she said.
