Page 43 - Banking Finance July 2021

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banking and will help them to climb a career ladder. a lack of concern for perfect documentation with many
Currently,most of the modules are too theoretical and has defects in documents like understamping, etc. Some banks
no relevance to day- to -day banking. do offer e learning programmes and on line training and the
efficacy of such programmes are yet to be studied by many
Role of Staff Training Institutes banks.

Although all big banks do have an apex staff college for
Today's banker needs to be equipped with competencies
senior level bankers and staff training institutes at different which can be imparted only if the professional institutes like
centres across the country for all cadres vis substaff/clerical/ IIBF, NIBM, Staff Colleges of big banks etc should pool their
officers, they offer run of the mill programmes like induction resources together and the cross fertilisation of ideas would
courses, refresher courses, capsule courses and the training strengthen the training delivery system. IIBF and the
methodology also is not trainee- friendly. The programmes banking industry should have a formal mechanism for
aim at enhancing knowledge and sharpen the skillsets of frequent interaction so that the professional needs of the
employees but more often the training programmes follow industry can be met and qualitatively improve the academic
a set pattern introduced years ago. inputs. It can also replicate the best practices being followed
by overseas training institutes like American Bankers
For example, no improvement is seen in documentation even Association, Institute of Scottish Bankers to develop the
after bankers undergo training programme on competency of bankers. Competency here denotes the ability
documentation. The inspection reports of branches point out of bankers to perform according to a desired standard. T

ICICI Bank leads market leader in credit-card issuances

ICICI Bank seems to be turning into the market leader in terms of acquiring credit card customers. The bank has
added over 8.15 lakh new credit card customers between January and April this year. This coincides with the temporary
halt on acquisition of credit card customers on HDFC Bank by the RBI in December last year. According to the latest
RBI data, ICICI Bank had 1.07 crore credit card customers by April end this year, adding 1.42 lakh customers over
March.
The bank has the thirdlargest credit card base and has been making additions on a monthly basis. HDFC Bank continues
to have the largest credit card customer base with 1.49 crore outstanding credit cards as on April 30. But it has seen
a decline of 3.8 lakh credit card customers since December 2020, when it had 1.53 crore outstanding cards.
State Bank of India has the second-largest credit card base with 1.19 crore outstanding cards by April end this year.
It has added 1.05 lakh new customers since December 2020. Meanwhile, Citigroup, which has announced plans to
exit its consumer banking operations in India, has also registered a decline in its credit card base. It has 26.21 lakh
credit cards outstanding as on April 30, 2021 versus 26.94 lakh as on December 31, 2020. Axis Bank has 72.01 lakh
credit cards in force by April end this year as against 68.72 lakh in December 2020.

ED transfers banks Rs. 9,371 crore assets seized from wilful defaulters

The Directorate of Enforcement has transferred seized assets worth Rs. 9371.17 crore to public sector banks that
suffered losses due to financial frauds committed by fugitive businessmen Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi.The
total assets attached by the ED are worth Rs. 18,170.02 crore.
"ED not only attached/seized assets worth of Rs. 18,170.02 crore (80.45% of the total loss to banks) in the case of
Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi under the PMLA but also transferred a part of attached/seized assets of
Rs. 9371.17 Crore to the PSBs and Central Government," said the agency.
The ED also said that it has unearthed a money trail of domestic and international transactions and stashing of assets
abroad. The investigation revealed that the three accused used dummy entities controlled by them for rotation and
siphoning off the funds provided by the banks, it said.

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