Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Urges Public Sector Banks To Boost Deposits Via Special Drives
Further, the banks were also instructed to focus on increasing credit flow to eligible beneficiaries under various government schemes like the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and PM Vishwakarma Yojana
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday concluded a two-part series of review meetings with leaders of top public sector banks and regional rural banks, urging the former to conduct special drives to garner deposits.
The Union Finance Minister, during deliberations on deposit mobilisation, said while credit growth has picked up, mobilisation of deposits could further be improved to fund the credit growth sustainably.
She also exhorted banks to "expeditiously implement the recent Budget announcements" including a new credit assessment model for MSMEs based on digital footprints and cashflows.
Further, the banks were also instructed to focus on increasing credit flow to eligible beneficiaries under various government schemes like the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and PM Vishwakarma Yojana.
The financial performance of PSBs was also reviewed, with the banks together posting a profit of Rs 1.45 lakh crore, the highest ever aggregate. The asset quality also improved, with net NPAs declining to 0.76% and net interest margin at 3.22%.
Issues related to digital payments and cyber security framework were also deliberated in the meeting. "The Union Finance Minister also urged that every aspect of the IT system should be reviewed periodically and thoroughly from the cyber security angle to ensure that the security of the bank systems is not breached or compromised," a statement from PIB read.
From the meeting with rural regional banks, Sitharaman urged all 43 banks to devise suitable MSME products, with assistance from SIDBI. According to three people that attended the rural regional banks meeting, the aim of 'One RRB, One State' was also discussed, alongside the consolidation of Northeastern RRBs into one.
