Source:
E-mail dt. 7 June 2012
Recent
Trends in Banking
Dr.
R. Karuppasamy M.Com., MBA, M.Phil.,
Ph.D., PLME
Director, Management
Studies, SNS College of
Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
and
Mr. C. Arul Venkadesh
MBA, PGDPM (IRLL), (PhD)
Assistant Professor – Department of
Management Sciences, CIET College, Coimbatore,
Tamilnadu, India
INTRODUCTION
Indian economic environment is
witnessing path breaking reform measures. The financial sector, of which the
banking industry is the largest player, has also been undergoing a metamorphic
change. Today the banking industry is stronger and capable of withstanding the
pressures of competition. While internationally accepted prudential norms have
been adopted, with higher disclosures and transparency, Indian banking industry
is gradually moving towards adopting the best practices in accounting,
corporate governance and risk management. Interest rates have been deregulated,
while the rigour of directed lending is being
progressively reduced.
Today, we are having a fairly well developed banking system with different classes of banks – public sector banks, foreign banks, private sector banks – both old and new generation, regional rural banks and co-operative banks with the Reserve Bank of India as the fountain Head of the system. In the banking field, there has been an unprecedented growth and diversification of banking industry has been so stupendous that it has no parallel in the annals of banking anywhere in the world.
During the last 41 years since 1969, tremendous changes have taken place in the banking industry. The banks have shed their traditional functions and have been innovating, improving and coming out with new types of the services to cater to the emerging needs of their customers.
Massive branch expansion in the rural and underdeveloped areas, mobilization of savings and diversification of credit facilities to the either to neglected areas like small scale industrial sector, agricultural and other preferred areas like export sector etc. have resulted in the widening and deepening of the financial infrastructure and transferred the fundamental character of class banking into mass banking.
There has been considerable innovation and diversification in the business of major commercial banks. Some of them have engaged in the areas of consumer credit, credit cards, merchant banking, leasing, mutual funds etc. A few banks have already set up subsidiaries for merchant banking, leasing and mutual funds and many more are in the process of doing so. Some banks have commenced factoring business.
THE INDIAN BANKING SECTOR
The history of Indian banking can be divided into three main
phases.
Phase I (1786- 1969) - Initial phase of banking in India when many small banks
were set up
Phase II (1969- 1991) - Nationalization, regularization and growth
Phase III (1991 onwards) - Liberalization and its aftermath
With the reforms in Phase III the Indian banking sector, as
it stands today, is mature in supply, product range and reach, with banks
having clean, strong and transparent balance sheets. The major growth drivers
are increase in retail credit demand, proliferation of ATMs and debit-cards,
decreasing NPAs due to Securitization, improved
macroeconomic conditions, diversification, interest rate spreads, and
regulatory and policy changes (e.g. amendments to the Banking Regulation Act).
Certain trends like growing competition, product
innovation and branding, focus on strengthening risk management systems,
emphasis on technology have emerged in the recent past. In addition, the impact
of the Basel II norms is going to be expensive for Indian banks, with the need
for additional capital requirement and costly database creation and maintenance
processes. Larger banks would have a relative advantage with the incorporation
of the norms.
PERSPECTIVES ON
INDIAN BANKING
In 2009-10 there was a slowdown in the
balance sheet growth of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) with some slippages
in their asset quality and profitability. Bank credit posted a lower growth of
16.6 per cent in 2009-10 on a year-on-year basis but showed signs of recovery from
October 2009 with the beginning of
economic turnaround. Gross nonperforming assets (NPAs) as a ratio to gross
advances for SCBs, as a whole, increased from 2.25 per cent in 2008 - 09
to 2.39 percent in
2009 – 10. Notwithstanding some
knock-on effects of the global
financial crisis, Indian banks withstood the shock and remained stable
and sound in the post-crisis period. Indian banks now compare favorably with
banks in the region on metrics such as growth, profitability and loan
delinquency ratios. In general, banks have had a track record of innovation,
growth and value creation. However this
process of banking development needs to be taken forward to serve the larger
need of financial inclusion through expansion of banking services, given their
low penetration as compared to other markets.
During 2010-11, banks were able to improve
their profitability and asset quality. Stress test showed that banking sector
remained reasonably resilient to liquidity and interest rate shocks. Yet, there
were emerging concerns about banking sector stability related to
disproportionate growth in credit to sectors such as real estate,
infrastructure, NBFCs and retail segment, persistent
asset-liability mismatches, higher provisioning requirement and
reliance on short-term borrowings to fund asset growth
GLOBAL BANKING DEVELOPMENTS
The year 2010-11 was a difficult
period for the global banking system, with challenges arising from the global
financial system as well as the emerging fiscal and economic growth scenarios
across countries. Global banks exhibited some improvements in capital adequacy
but were beleaguered by weak credit growth, high leverage and poor asset
quality. In contrast, in major emerging economies, credit growth remained at
relatively high levels, which was regarded as a cause of concern given the
increasing inflationary pressures and capital inflows in these economies. In
the advanced economies, credit availability remained particularly constrained
for small and medium enterprises and the usage of banking services also stood
at a low, signaling financial exclusion of the population in the post-crisis
period. On the positive side, both advanced and emerging economies,
individually, and multi-laterally, moved forward towards effective systemic
risk management involving initiatives for improving the macro-prudential
regulatory framework and reforms related to systemically important financial
institutions.
POLICY ENVIRONMENT
Banking sector policy during
2010-11 remained consistent with the broader objectives of macroeconomic policy
of sustaining economic growth and controlling inflation. The Reserve Bank
introduced important policy measures of deregulation of savings bank deposit
rate and introduction of Credit Default Swap (CDS) for corporate bonds. It initiated
the policy discussions with regard to providing new bank licenses, designing
the road-ahead for the presence of foreign banks and holding company structure
for banks. The process of migration to
the advanced approaches under the Basel II regulatory framework continued
during 2010-11, while also facilitating the movement towards the Basel III
framework Financial Inclusion continued to occupy centre stage in banking
sector policy with the rolling out of Board-Approved Financial Inclusion Plans
by banks during 2010-11 for a time horizon of next three years.
RECENT TRENDS
IN BANKING
1)
Electronic
Payment Services – E Cheques
Now-a-days we are hearing about
e-governance, e-mail, e-commerce, e-tail etc. In the same manner, a new
technology is being developed in US for introduction of e-cheque,
which will eventually replace the conventional paper cheque.
India, as harbinger to the introduction of e-cheque,
the Negotiable Instruments Act has already been amended to include; Truncated cheque and E-cheque instruments.
2)
Real
Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Real Time Gross Settlement system, introduced in India
since March 2004, is a system through which electronics instructions can be
given by banks to transfer funds from their account to the account of another
bank. The RTGS system is maintained and operated by the RBI and provides a
means of efficient and faster funds transfer among banks facilitating their
financial operations. As the name suggests, funds transfer between banks takes
place on a ‘Real Time' basis. Therefore, money can reach the beneficiary
instantaneously and the beneficiary's bank has the responsibility to credit the
beneficiary's account within two hours.
3)
Electronic
Funds Transfer (EFT)
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
is a system whereby anyone who wants to make payment to another person/company
etc. can approach his bank and make cash payment or give
instructions/authorization to transfer funds directly from his own account to
the bank account of the receiver/beneficiary. Complete
details such as the receiver's name, bank
account number, account type
(savings or current account), bank name, city, branch name etc. should be
furnished to the bank at the time of requesting for such transfers so that the
amount reaches the beneficiaries' account correctly and faster. RBI is the
service provider of EFT.
4)
Electronic
Clearing Service (ECS)
Electronic Clearing Service is a
retail payment system that can be used to make bulk payments/receipts of a
similar nature especially where each individual payment is of a repetitive
nature and of relatively smaller amount. This facility is meant for companies
and government departments to make/receive large volumes of payments rather
than for funds transfers by individuals.
5)
Automatic
Teller Machine (ATM)
Automatic Teller Machine is the
most popular devise in India, which enables the customers to withdraw their
money 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a devise
that allows customer who has an ATM card to perform routine banking transactions
without interacting with a human teller. In addition to cash withdrawal, ATMs
can be used for payment of utility bills, funds transfer between accounts,
deposit of cheques and cash into accounts, balance
enquiry etc.
6)
Point of
Sale Terminal
Point of Sale Terminal is a computer terminal that is linked online to
the computerized customer information files in a bank and magnetically encoded
plastic transaction card that identifies the customer
to the computer. During a transaction, the customer's account is debited and
the retailer's account is credited by the computer for the amount of purchase.
7)
Tele
Banking
Tele Banking facilitates the
customer to do entire non-cash related banking on telephone. Under this devise
Automatic Voice Recorder is used for simpler queries and
transactions. For complicated queries and transactions, manned phone terminals
are used.
8)
Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI)
Electronic Data Interchange is
the electronic exchange of business documents like purchase order, invoices,
shipping notices, receiving advices etc. in a standard, computer processed,
universally accepted format between trading partners. EDI can also be used to
transmit financial information and payments in electronic form.
IMPLICATIONS
The banks were quickly responded
to the changes in the industry; especially the new generation banks. The
continuance of the trend has re-defined and re-engineered the banking
operations as whole with more customization through leveraging technology. As
technology makes banking convenient, customers can access banking services and
do banking transactions any time and from any ware. The importance of physical
branches is going down.
CHALLENGES FACED
BY BANKS
The major challenges faced by banks today are as to how to cope with competitive forces and strengthen their balance sheet. Today, banks are groaning with burden of NPA’s. It is rightly felt that these contaminated debts, if not recovered, will eat into the very vitals of the banks. Another major anxiety before the banking industry is the high transaction cost of carrying Non Performing Assets in their books. The resolution of the NPA problem requires greater accountability on the part of the corporate, greater disclosure in the case of defaults, an efficient credit information sharing system and an appropriate legal framework pertaining to the banking system so that court procedures can be streamlined and actual recoveries made within an acceptable time frame. The banking industry cannot afford to sustain itself with such high levels of NPA’s thus, “lend, but lent for a purpose and with a purpose ought to be the slogan for salvation.”
The Indian banks are subject to tremendous pressures to perform as otherwise their very survival would be at stake. Information technology (IT) plays an important role in the banking sector as it would not only ensure smooth passage of interrelated transactions over the electric medium but will also facilitate complex financial product innovation and product development. The application of IT and e-banking is becoming the order of the day with the banking system heading towards virtual banking.
As an extreme case of e-banking World Wide Banking (WWB) on the pattern of World Wide Web (WWW) can be visualized. That means all banks would be interlinked and individual bank identity, as far as the customer is concerned, does not exist. There is no need to have large number of physical bank branches, extension counters. There is no need of person-to-person physical interaction or dealings. Customers would be able to do all their banking operations sitting in their offices or homes and operating through internet. This would be the case of banking reaching the customers.
Banking landscape is changing very fast. Many new players with different muscle powers will enter the market. The Reserve Bank in its bid to move towards the best international banking practices will further sharpen the prudential norms and strengthen its supervisor mechanism. There will be more transparency and disclosures. In the days to come, banks are expected to play a very useful role in the economic development and the emerging market will provide ample business opportunities to harness. Human Resources Management is assuming to be of greater importance. As banking in India will become more and more knowledge supported, human capital will emerge as the finest assets of the banking system. Ultimately banking is people and not just figures.
India's banking sector has made rapid strides in reforming and aligning itself to the new competitive business environment. Indian banking industry is the midst of an IT revolution. Technological infrastructure has become an indispensable part of the reforms process in the banking system, with the gradual development of sophisticated instruments and innovations in market practices.
IT IN BANKING
Indian banking industry, today is
in the midst of an IT revolution. A combination of regulatory and competitive
reasons has led to increasing importance of total banking automation in the
Indian Banking Industry. Information Technology has basically been used under
two different avenues in Banking. One is Communication and Connectivity and
other is Business Process Reengineering. Information technology enables
sophisticated product development, better market infrastructure, implementation
of reliable techniques for control of risks and helps the financial
intermediaries to reach geographically distant and diversified markets.
The bank which used the right
technology to supply timely information will see productivity increase and
thereby gain a competitive edge. To compete in an economy which is opening up,
it is imperative for the Indian Banks to observe the latest technology and
modify it to suit their environment. Not only banks need greatly enhanced use
of technology to the customer friendly, efficient and competitive existing
services and business, they also need technology for providing newer products
and newer forms of services in an increasingly dynamic and globalize
environment. Information technology offers a chance for banks to build new
systems that address a wide range of customer needs including many that may not
be imaginable today.
·
It is becoming
increasingly imperative for banks to assess and ascertain the benefits of
technology implementation. The fruits of technology will certainly taste a lot
sweeter when the returns can be measured in absolute terms but it needs
precautions and the safety nets.
·
It has not been a
smooth sailing for banks keen to jump onto the IT bandwagon. There have been
impediments in the path like the obduracy once shown by trade unions who felt
that IT could turn out to be a threat to secure employment. Further, the
expansion of banks into remote nooks and corners of the country, where logistics continues to be a handicap, proved to
be another stumbling stock. Another challenge the banks have had to face
concerns the inability of banks to retain the trained and talented personnel,
especially those with a good knowledge of IT.
·
The increasing use
of technology in banks has also brought up ‘security' concerns. To avoid any
pitfalls or mishaps on this account, banks ought to have in place a
well-documented security policy including network security and internal
security. The passing of the Information Technology Act has come as a boon to
the banking sector, and banks should now ensure to abide strictly by its
covenants. An effort should also be made to cover e-business in the country's
consumer laws.
·
Some are investing
in it to drive the business growth, while others are having no option but to
invest, to stay in business. The choice of right channel, justification of IT
investment on ROI, e-governance, customer relationship management, security
concerns, technological obsolescence, mergers and acquisitions, penetration of
IT in rural areas, and outsourcing of IT operations are the major challenges
and issues in the use of IT in banking operations. The main challenge, however,
remains to motivate the customers to increasingly make use of IT while
transacting with banks. For small banks, heavy investment requirement is the
compressing need in addition to their capital requirements. The coming years
will see even more investment in banking technology, but reaping ROI will call
for more strategic thinking.
·
The banks may have to reorient their resources
in the form of reorganized branch networks, reduced manpower, dramatic
reduction in establishment cost, honing the skills of the staff, and innovative
ways of attracting talented managerial pool. The Government of India and the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on their part would strengthen the existing norms
in terms of governing and directing the functioning of these banks. Banks needs
to strengthen their audit function. They would be evaluated based on their
performance in the market place. It is in this context that we have invited the
chief executive officers of Indian banks to respond to the issues mentioned
earlier
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Everyone today is convinced that
the technology is going to hold the key to future of banking. The achievements
in the banking today would not have make possible without IT revolution.
Therefore, the key point is while changing to the current environment the banks
has to understand properly the trigger for change and accordingly find out the
suitable departure point for the change.
Although, the adoption of
technology in banks continues at a rapid pace, the concentration is perceptibly
more in the metros and urban areas. The benefit of Information Technology is
yet to percolate sufficiently to the common man living in his rural hamlet. More
and more programs and software in regional languages could be introduced to
attract more and more people from the rural segments also.
Standards based messaging systems
should be increasingly deployed in order to address cross platform transactions.
The surplus manpower generated by the use of IT should be used for marketing
new schemes and banks should form a ‘brains trust' comprising domain experts
and technology specialists.
CONCLUSION
Indian banking system will further grow
in size and complexity while acting as an important agent of economic growth
and intermingling different segments of the financial sector. It automatically
follows that the future of Indian banking depends not only in internal dynamics
unleashed by ongoing returns but also on global trends in the financial
sectors. Indian Banking Industry has shown considerable resilience during the
return period. The second generation returns will play a crucial role in
further strengthening the system. The banking today
is re-defined and re-engineered with the use of Information Technology and it
is sure that the future of banking will offer more sophisticated services to
the customers with the continuous product and process innovations. Thus, there
is a paradigm shift from the seller's market to buyer's market in the industry
and finally it affected at the bankers level to change their approach from
"conventional banking to convenience banking" and "mass banking
to class banking". The shift has also increased the degree of accessibility
of a common man to bank for his variety of needs and requirements. Adoption
of stringent prudential norms and higher capital standards, better risk
management systems, adoption of internationally accepted accounting practices
and increased disclosures and transparency will ensure the Indian Banking
industry keeps pace with other developed banking systems.
REFERENCES