Sitharaman asks banks to step up lending as interest rates fall

Mint

4 hours ago

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked public sector banks to step up lending after Reserve Bank of India cut key policy rates early this month and contribute to the growth of the economy.
The RBI cut its key repo rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points, as muted inflation gave policymakers room to prioritise growth amid global economic uncertainty.
The finance minister also urged banks to boost lending to micro, small and medium enterprises, improve deposit mobilisation, while also instructing financial institutions to scale up efforts under key financial inclusion schemes, including PM MUDRA Yojana, PM Vishwakarma, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, PM Vidyalaxmi, and the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.
Sitharaman chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi on Friday to review the performance of public sector banks (PSBs) on financial parameters, credit offtake, financial inclusion, customer service, grievance redressal, digital banking, and cybersecurity.
The meeting was also attended by Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary; Secretary, department of financial services (DFS), M. Nagaraju; MDs of PSBs; and senior officials of the DFS.
During the meeting, the finance minister acknowledged the strong financial performance of PSBs in recent years, and particularly in FY25.
From FY23 to FY25, the total business of PSBs rose from ₹ 203 trillion to ₹ 251 trillion, net NPAs declined from 1.24% to 0.52%, net profit rose from ₹ 1.04 trillion to ₹ 1.78 trillion, and dividend payouts grew from ₹ 20,964 crore to ₹ 34,990 crore, according to a government statement.
The finance minister was also informed that the PSBs are adequately capitalised, with their risk buffer (capital to risk-weighted assets ratio) standing at 16.15% as of March.
Sitharaman emphasised the need for sustained efforts to improve deposit mobilisation to support ongoing credit growth. PSBs were advised to undertake special drives, effectively use their branch networks, and deepen outreach in semi-urban and rural areas.
She urged PSBs to proactively identify emerging commercial growth areas for the next decade, which can aid their profitability and growth.
She stressed deepening corporate lending in productive sectors, with a strong focus on maintaining robust underwriting and risk management standards. More so in renewable and sustainable energy areas, as advancing India's green growth agenda was a national priority. Banks were also advised to develop credit models to support the development of indigenously designed small modular nuclear reactors.
As announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, PSBs were encouraged to focus on agri credit in the 100 low-crop productivity districts to be identified under the PM Dhan Dhanya Yojana. Banks were instructed to tailor special credit products to enhance agricultural productivity and unlock local economic potential by identifying and supporting farm products that can be developed in these particular districts.
Banks were also advised to expand their presence in GIFT City to support India's aspirations in international financial services, tap into emerging global opportunities, and increase participation in the India International Bullion Exchange.
To enhance customer experience, Sitharaman directed banks to ensure faster grievance redressal, offer simplified digital platforms, and provide multilingual services both online and offline. That includes maintaining clean, customer-friendly physical branches and expanding in metro and urban centres to keep pace with urbanisation.
The finance minister directed the PSBs to participate actively in the upcoming three-month financial inclusion saturation campaign, beginning 1 July, covering 270,000 gram panchayats and urban local bodies. This campaign would also focus on assisting the citizens on know-your-customer (KYC) compliance, re-KYC and unclaimed deposits.
Banks were directed to ensure focused outreach, adequate manpower deployment, and effective publicity of this special campaign to further deepen financial inclusion under schemes such as PM Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima and PM Suraksha Bima Yojana.
Sitharaman was apprised of the progress under the new credit assessment model for MSMEs, launched on 6 March, with 1.97 lakh MSME loans amounting to ₹ 60,000 crore already sanctioned. Banks were directed to strengthen the model's implementation to broaden access to capital and expedite credit flow to small and medium businesses.
The review noted that under the Stand Up India scheme, 228,000 loans worth ₹ 51,192 crore have been sanctioned. Similarly, under the PM Vidya Lakshmi scheme, 6,682 applications have been sanctioned, amounting to ₹ 1,751 crore. Given the government's commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and higher education through targeted credit initiatives, banks were directed to give greater focus to these schemes.
Sitharaman said all existing and arising vacancies must be filled as soon as possible to deliver better service.
Banks were encouraged to scale up branch expansion in underserved areas like the Northeast. The finance minister underlined the need to strengthen the business correspondent (BC) network to ensure last-mile access to banking services, particularly in rural and remote areas.
An official said banks were also advised to check mis-selling of insurance products.