Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asks banks to adopt a more customer-friendly approach
Mumbai:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that banks need to be more customer-friendly in their approach so that getting loans becomes hassle-free.
Ms Sitharaman said this during a post-Budget discussion with industry representatives in Mumbai, while also clarifying that banks should not be lenient on credit underwriting norms by taking any adverse risk on a proposal.
During the interaction, there was a suggestion of a start-up representative for credit to be available hassle free, to which State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said that the concern of startups is more on the equity side and if there is full support in lending Be assured there is sufficient equity on the table.
Emphasizing that the woman asking the question is running an innovative venture, Ms Sitharaman offered some suggestions for the banking community and also spoke out against their attitude.
“Initially, Mr. Khara gave a very candid answer. And then after being given some pointers, he started talking about a scheme that has a lot of government backing, the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises. (CGTMSE),” he said. ,
“Banks have to be a lot more customer friendly. Not to the extent of taking unfavorable risk, which you don’t need to take, but you need to be a lot more customer friendly,” the minister said.
Mr Khara said the focus is on increasing the reliance on end-to-end digitization of the process, which will ensure a hassle-free experience.
He said that in the next two months, the bank will go completely digital for lending. Also, provided that there is reliable cash flow visibility available to the bank, credit growth for small businesses may touch personal loans over time.
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