Page 7 - Banking Finance August 2024

BANK UPDATE

(DFS) told private banks to increase However, this was largely due to the HDFC Bank CSR spend
their participation in financial inclusion impact of the HDFC-HDFC Bank
schemes. merger. If we exclude the effects of crosses Rs. 945 crore in

DFS Secretary Vivek Joshi chaired a the merger, the year-on-year growth FY24
would have been around 16.2%, still
meeting with senior executives of pri- HDFC Bank has reported a corporate
vate sector banks to review the higher than the 12% growth in depos- social responsibility (CSR) spend of Rs
progress and performance of financial its. The accretion to the deposit book 945.31 crore for the financial year
has been around Rs 11.3 lakh crore
inclusion schemes, including PM 2023-24, an increase of nearly Rs 125
during the first quarter, while the ad-
SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma, and Jan crore from the previous year.
Samarth Portal. dition to the loan book has been Rs 8
lakh crore. The bank's CSR programme,
According to the press statement of Parivartan, has been active for over a
the Finance Ministry, Joshi also re- According to a Macquarie report, of decade and its initiatives, spread across
viewed the progress under various fi- the banks that have reported their 28 states and 8 Union Territories, have
business figures so far, the average
nancial inclusion schemes, including impacted over 10 crore lives, HDFC
quarter-on-quarter increase has been
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana 1.5% for public sector banks and 0.2% Bank said in a release.
(PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti
for private banks. In deposits, the av- The Parivartan initiatives have reached
Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri erage quarter-on-quarter growth is over 9,000 villages, impacting over 10 lakh
Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal 0.3% for PSBs and 0.6% for private households, as per the annual report.
Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri banks.
Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Stand Up In- FSIB recommends CS Setty
dia, PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar
Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), and PM Banks' gross NPA ratio for SBI Chairman's post
Vishwakarma. eases to 12-year low of The Financial Services Institutions Bu-
Joshi also reviewed the progress of 2.8% in March reau (FSIB), the body which selects the
opening brick-and-mortar branches of The gross non-performing assets Chairman and MDs of public sector
banks and deploying banking corre- banks and insurance companies, has
(GNPA) ratio of scheduled commercial
spondents (BCs) in unbanked villages. banks, which moderated to a 12-year recommended the name of Challa
On June 25, the DFS asked public sec- low of 2.8 per cent in March 2024, may Sreenivasulu Setty as the next Chair-
man of State Bank of India.
tor banks (PSBs) to revive inoperative further improve to 2.5 per cent by
accounts under the Pradhan Mantri March 2025, the Reserve Bank of In- FSIB interfaced with the candidates for
Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). dia (RBI) said. the position of Chairman in State Bank
of India (SBI), FSIB said. "Keeping in
The estimate for GNPA ratio for March
Deposits grow faster than 2025 is based on the macro stress view their performance in the inter-
tests, performed to assess the resil- face, their overall experience and the
loans extant parameters, the Bureau recom-
ience of banks' balance sheets to un-
The banking sector's outstanding loans foreseen shocks emanating from the mends Setty for the position of Chair-
rose 4.8% in the first quarter - from Rs macroeconomic environment. man in SBI," it said.
168.7 lakh crore as of end-March 2024 SBI'S current Chairman Dinesh Kumar
"The asset quality of scheduled com-
to Rs 176.8 lakh crore on June 28. mercial banks (SCBs) recorded sus- Khara is retiring on August 28, when he
During the same period, deposits grew turns 63. He was given an extension in
tained improvement and their GNPA
5.3% to Rs 220.6 lakh crore from Rs October 2023. Khara was appointed the
ratio moderated to a 12-year low in
209.3 lakh crore. chairman of SBI on October 7, 2020.
Marc 2024 (to 2.8 per cent). Their NPA
In the past year, the growth of loans (NNPA) ratio too improved to a record Setty, currently a Managing Director, is
continued to exceed that of deposits, low of 0.6 percent," the RBI said in its looking after international banking, glo-
with the loan portfolio expanding by Financial Stability Report (FSR) for June bal markets and technology of the
19.6% by the end of June 2023. 2024. bank. He was appointed as MD in 2020.

BANKING FINANCE | AUGUST | 2024 | 7