Page 7 - Banking Finance August 2023

BANK UPDATE

than three-fourths of the total 3.62 "This will enable customers to easily With number of bank
lakh crore of Rs 2,000 bank notes have identify banks covered by the Deposit
mitras touching 8.5 lakh,
come back to the system by way of Insurance Scheme of DICGC and facili-
deposits (over 85%) and the rest as tate timely access to information on last-mile banking gets a
note exchanges. Deposits rose 13% in Deposit Insurance," it said.
boost
the reporting fortnight and sequen-
The number of bank mitras, the field
tially, it expanded by 3.2% to Rs 191.6
SBI offers cardless opera-
force to ensure lastmile financial con-
lakh crore.
tions at any ATM nectivity, has now reached 8.50 lakh,
SBI has made cardless cash withdraw- making a significant impact on finan-
PSBs to step up one-time
als interoperable by allowing custom- cial inclusion.
settlement in written-off ers of any bank to draw cash from any Last financial year witnessed the addi-
loans ATM that has the UPI QR cash func- tion of almost one lakh bank mitras,
tion. The bank has also launched a re-
Public sector banks (PSBs) are expected who are employed as field agents by
vamped version of its flagship Yono app. the business correspondents to render
to step up one-time settlement (OTS)
in written-off loans as the Finance Min- By utilising the 'UPI QR cash' function- lastmile financial services, taking the
istry and the Reserve Bank of India ality, users can generate a dynamic QR total number to 8.50 lakh, as per Fi-
have emphasised on the importance of code displayed on the ATM screen and nance Ministry data.
improving recovery from these ac- withdraw cash using their UPI "These are like a silent army deliver-
counts. application's 'scan-and-pay' feature. ing branchless banking across the
This solution not only simplifies the
Since legal action can be drawn out, country. The Covid19 pandemic proved
withdrawal process but also enhances
the state-owned lenders are seen ac- the efficacy of the bank mitra model
security by eliminating the need for
tively pursuing OTS to meet the Fi- and they rendered notable service," a
PIN entry or physical handling of debit senior official of the Indian Banks As-
nance Ministry-set target of making
cards, minimising risks associated with sociation (IBA) told.
about 40 per cent recovery from writ-
fraudulent activities.
ten-off loan accounts. The increased penetration is due to
diverse factors. According to
PSBs could recover only 14 per cent (or
No chairman for six of 11 Bibekananda Panda, Senior Economist,
Rs. 1.03-lakh crore) from written-off
loans aggregating Rs. 7.34-lakh crore state-run banks for years State Bank of India, given the penetra-
tion of digital banking in the country,
in the last five years ended March At a time when the Reserve Bank of
2022. India (RBI) has been underscoring the banks are strategically deploying more
bank mitras to deliver superior cus-
need for governance in commercial
tomer service at a lesser cost.
DICGC asks banks to dis- banks, six of 11 public sector banks
(PSBs) still do not have a non-executive
play its logo
chairman. Some of these posts have Locker rules: Banks urge
Deposit Insurance and Credit Guaran-
been lying vacant for more than two
customers to get stamp
tee Corporation (DICGC) has asked all
years.
insured banks to display the DICGC papers to avoid delay
UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank
Logo and QR Code linked to its website Stamp papers may turn out to be the
of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian
on the banks' internet banking portals biggest problem for customers signing
Bank, and Central Bank of India do not
and websites. the latest agreement for bank lockers,
have a non-executive chairman.
The decision taken in consultation with as directed by RBI.
UCO Bank and Bank of Maharashtra
the Reserve Bank of India, has been RBI recently instructed all banks to
never had a part-time chairman since
taken with a view to enhance aware- execute a fresh locker agreement with
the process of splitting the chairman
ness about Deposit Insurance in a fo- customers, the deadline for which has
and managing director (MD) posts
cused and sustained manner, DICGC been set on December 31. This agree-
started in 2015.
said. ment has to be executed by all bank
BANKING FINANCE | AUGUST | 2023 | 7