Recent Trends in Indian Banking Sector

Today, we are having a fairly well developed banking system with different classes of banks — public sector banks, foreign banks, private sector banks — both old and new generation, regional rural banks and co-operative banks with the Reserve Bank of India as the fountain Head of the system.

In the banking field, there has been an unprecedented growth and diversification of banking industry has been so stupendous that it has no parallel in the annals of banking anywhere in the world.

During the last 41 years since 1969, tremendous changes have taken place in the banking industry. The banks have shed their traditional functions and have been innovating, improving and coming out with new types of the services to cater to the emerging needs of their customers.

Massive branch expansion in the rural and underdeveloped areas, mobilisation of savings and diversification of credit facilities to the either to neglected areas like small scale industrial sector, agricultural and other preferred areas like export sector etc. have resulted in the widening and deepening of the financial infrastructure and transferred the fundamental character of class banking into mass banking.

There has been considerable innovation and diversification in the business of major commercial banks. Some of them have engaged in the areas of consumer credit, credit cards, merchant banking, leasing, mutual funds etc. A few banks have already set up subsidiaries for merchant banking, leasing and mutual funds and many more are in the process of doing so. Some banks have commenced factoring business.

The major challenges faced by banks today are as to how to cope with competitive forces and strengthen their balance sheet. Today, banks are groaning with burden of NPA’s. It is rightly felt that these contaminated debts, if not recovered, will eat into the very vitals of the banks. Another major anxiety before the banking industry is the high transaction cost of carrying Non Performing Assets in their books. The resolution of the NPA problem requires greater accountability on the part of the corporate, greater disclosure in the case of defaults, an efficient credit information sharing system and an appropriate legal framework pertaining to the banking system so that court procedures can be streamlined and actual recoveries made within an acceptable time frame. The banking industry cannot afford to sustain itself with such high levels of NPA’s thus, “lend, but lent for a purpose and with a purpose ought to be the slogan for salvation.”

The Indian banks are subject to tremendous pressures to perform as otherwise their very survival would be at stake. Information technology (IT) plays an important role in the banking sector as it would not only ensure smooth passage of interrelated transactions over the electric medium but will also facilitate complex financial product innovation and product development. The application of IT and e-banking is becoming the order of the day with the banking system heading towards virtual banking.

As an extreme case of e-banking World Wide Banking (WWB) on the pattern of World Wide Web (WWW) can be visualised. That means all banks would be interlinked and individual bank identity, as far as the customer is concerned, does not exist. There is no need to have large number of physical bank branches, extension counters. There is no need of person-to-person physical interaction or dealings. Customers would be able to do all their banking operations sitting in their offices or homes and operating through internet. This would be the case of banking reaching the customers.

Banking landscape is changing very fast. Many new players with different muscle powers will enter the market. The Reserve Bank in its bid to move towards the best international banking practices will further sharpen the prudential norms and strengthen its supervisor mechanism. There will be more transparency and disclosures.

In the days to come, banks are expected to play a very useful role in the economic development and the emerging market will provide ample business opportunities to harness. Human Resources Management is assuming to be of greater importance. As banking in India will become more and more knowledge supported, human capital will emerge as the finest assets of the banking system. Ultimately banking is people and not just figures.

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