The minister told the banking industry lobby grouping, “Even today many panchayats do not have a bank branch. I am not saying that you need to have a physical presence everywhere, digitization saved a lot of cost without compromising on the service of banks. Is.” Indian Banks Association.
“Bank and IBA Can decide among themselves where you need to be physically present and where digital services can be expanded. “A good rational approach will help the government’s financial inclusion agenda.”
Sitharaman said the IBA should digitize and map the banking presence in each district and identify gaps, adding that it is not against digitisation.
on the establishment of National Asset Reconstruction CompanySitharaman said that the bookkeeping of banks is now much cleaner and this will help the government as the recapitalization requirements will be reduced.
“The burden on the government will be much less because your books will be clean,” she said.
The minister also praised the banks that have joined account aggregator framework, and said that financial inclusion cannot happen if credit does not reach far and wide.
“The future of credit outreach can be through the system throughout the year, and there is no need for separate credit outreach programs,” she said. “If the account aggregator model is used correctly, credit will be available to even the smallest customers who reach out to you, without any worries.”