New Delhi: Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs reviewed the performance of banks, in a meeting with the top management of Public Sector Banks, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Citi Bank. RBI Deputy Governor N. S. Vishwanathan also participated in the review.
The meeting is the first of a series of meetings that the Ministry of Finance is convening to discuss current economic issues with key stakeholders, including some of the industry sectors whose growth has been affected in recent months. This time, the meeting was on the banking sector. This will be followed by meetings with the MSME sector, the automobile sector, industry associations, financial market stakeholders, and real estate and home-buyers in coming days. The Government will factor in the takeaways from these consultations for appropriate policy responses to maintain a high growth trajectory and to address sector-specific issues.
The meeting on the banking sector focussed on overall credit growth to support the needs of the economy. Further, ways in which banks may help some of the sectors that have been drivers of economic growth to deal with their current issues were discussed. In particular, the credit needs of the NBFC, automobiles and MSME sectors were discussed. Transmission of benefits of rate cuts to borrowers and industry was also discussed. Digitalisation efforts were reviewed with a view to step up efforts in this direction. Banks also articulated some issues they have been facing in service tax, and these were taken note of by the Revenue Secretary and Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
