THE CHALLENGES AHEAD OF BANKS
*G. JAYALAKSHMI. , Ph. D Research Scholar
INTRODUCTION
Banking in India is at a crossroads. Proof of everyone suggests that a sound and evolution of the banking system is necessary for sustainable economic development. India has a better system of storage banks vis a vis other developing countries, but there are several issues to be resolved.
A strong performance in the current year, strengthening the positive trends of the past, will certainly improve the perception of risk in the short term, but the emphasis must be based on key structural changes that must occur if the Indian bank is to be a positive force and not a drag on the rest of the economy.
He met and overcome many challenges over the last decade. But bigger challenges lie ahead. In this paper, we try to examine the challenges that the banking sector in India faces.
Interest rate risk
The first challenge and most obvious will come from rising interest rates. The common perception is that interest rates have stopped falling and are likely to remain stable, but if demand for resources that picks companies begin to invest in new capacity and conditions of boom in demand for consumption fuel, then there mai a tightening of liquidity and upward pressure on interest rates.
Risk of interest rate can be defined as the exposure of net interest income bank of adverse movements in interest rates. Bank balance sheet consists primarily of assets and liabilities rupee. Any movement of domestic interest rate is the main source of risk of interest rates.
In recent years the treasury departments of banks have been responsible for a substantial part of profits earned by banks.
Now that yields are increasing (with rising inflation, bond yields rise and bond prices fall when the debt market starts factoring a possible rise in interest rates), banks must set aside funds the opportunity to market their investments. Thus, it will be difficult to show huge profits from treasury operations. This concern becomes much stronger, because a substantial percentage of bank deposits are invested in bonds.
Banking in recent years has been reduced to an operation of securities trading public. These past months have shown a rise in bond yields has led to profit from treasury operations down. The latest quarterly reports of banks clearly show several banks losses on their treasury operations. If higher yields continues banks could end up posting huge losses on their trading portfolios. Given these facts, the banks should consider alternative sources of investment.
Non-performing Assets
The best indicator of the health of the banking sector in a country is its level of NPAs. Given this fact, Indian banks seem better placed than they were in the past. Some banks have even managed to reduce their NPAs to net less than one percent (before the merger of Global Trust Bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce, OBC is a zero NPA bank). But as bond yields begin to increase chances are the net NPAs will also begin to rise.
This will happen because the banks made huge provisions against money they made on their bond portfolios in a scenario where bond yields were falling.
Reduce NPAs generally gives the impression that banks have strengthened their processes credit reporting over the years. This does not seem to be the case. With bond yields rising, income and cash will fall if banks want to make large provisions, the money will come from their interest income, which in turn lowers the profitability of banks.
Capital adequacy standards
A third and a key challenge will be the introduction of capital standards of Basel II. This will make two on the banks.
They will measure the risks they bear much better. To do this they need to reform their systems of management information so they have a clear and quantifiable risks.
They will then have to find capital to support this venture and eventually earn enough to maintain capital. R Ravimohan, CEO of Crisil, said that the future is all about technology and risk.
There is enormous potential for assessing the risks associated with using the technology. It is imperative for banks to increase, but the key issue is to decide where and how.
New ways or risk management and asset-liability mismatches, such as asset securitization, which frees resources and risk margins are likely to be increasingly used.
Competition in retail banking
The entry of new generation banks in the private sector has changed the entire scenario. At the beginning of the households had savings in banks and banks then lent money to businesses. Now they have to sell bank. The retail segment, which was previously ignored, is now the biggest lot with the banks to jump over one another to provide loans.
The consumer has never been so lucky with so many banks offering so many products to choose from. With a portfolio that far exceeds demand, it was a race to the bottom, with banks undercutting each other. Many foreign banks have already burnt their fingers in the game retail and decided to leave some segments of retail altogether.
Feet agile new generation banks in the private sector have taken a lead on this front and the public sector banks are trying to play catch up. PSBs have been losing business to private sector banks in this segment. PSBs need to understand how to generate profitable business in this sector in the coming days.
Conclusion
In recent years, interest rates falling, banks have given very little incentive to lend to projects that return does not compensate for the risk. This has led to banks to get into the retail segment big time. It has also led to many banks take no risk and putting in most of the deposits they collected in government bonds.
Now, with the use of bonds and in bond yields from rising, banks should focus on their primary loans.
The banking sector in India faces these challenges with success to continue our growth and strengthen the financial system of India.
In addition, the central government interference with the functioning of PSBs should stop. An autonomy plan costs for public sector banks is in the offing. The package aims to provide a high degree of freedom of PSBs on operational matters. This seems to be the way to PSBs.
The growth of the banking sector will be one of the most important inputs that go into ensuring that India is progressing and becoming a global economic super power.
Tags: Ahead, Auto, Banking, Banks, Challenges
