PSBs Start Bottom-up Self-Assessment & Deliberation

Public sector banks held a consultative process recently to frame a strategy for better performance:

The union finance ministry, in a recent note, had asked public sector banks to align themselves to national priorities, which include doubling farm income, Jal Shakti mission, housing for all, education loans, ease of living, corporate social responsibility and financial inclusion. The banks were told to hold a consultative and ideation process with their branch heads across the country to identify the issues and challenges faced by branches and how to improve their performance. The exercise was mooted as these banks have been losing market share to private sector banks over the last few years. The meetings were held to seek feedback on a number of issues ranging from the rise in bad loans and slow credit growth in the last 5 years to prepare a roadmap for the coming years. It was also aimed at understanding the performance of branches over a period visa-vis opportunities available and growth potential in the respective command areas in the near future.

The opening phase of the process, designed to generate ideas and to review the performance of PSU banks and their alignment with national priorities, was conducted at the zonal levels of these banks pan-India on 17 and 18 August 2019. The branches of these banks were themselves engaged in self-assessment, they deliberated on the issues, and evolved ideas on future strategy.

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