SBI MD Hopes Market Correction Will Boost Deposits

Mumbai, Aug 28 (PTI) SBI Managing Director Ashwini Tewari on Wednesday said a correction in the equity markets "over time" can help banks get back the deposits it has ceded.

He also said the country's largest lender is betting on the small-ticket Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts to drive deposit growth.

Speaking on the sidelines of the GFF, he told reporters that the capital markets rally has seen a shift of money away from the banks to the higher yielding alternatives.

"As the market corrects over time, some of the money that was earlier with us, will come back," he said.

Interestingly, he said the bank is also looking at the small-ticket deposits from the the decade-old PMJDY across its vast network as well to drive its deposit growth.

"(We are focusing) on the small-value, small ticket accounts to raise deposits. Jan Dhan is something we have not focused on (previously), which we will do," he said.

It can be noted that for nearly 18 months, the credit growth has been racing ahead of the deposit growth, forcing lenders to raise rates and compromising margins, and has also led to fears of banks being forced to temper loan growth.

The Indian markets have witnessed an impressive rally in the last few months and the banking system has been complaining about the shift of funds being one of the reasons for slower deposit growth.

Tewari on Wednesday said the regulator's moves on higher risk weights on unsecured loans and proposals on higher provisioning for project loans are a "signal" for tempering deposit growth.

He also said if the market demands, the bank will have to raise deposit rates.

The MD of the bank said nearly 90 per cent of the funds fuelling credit for the banking system used to come from deposits, and the share is coming down as the banks are forced to go for other instruments like infrastructure bonds.

Meanwhile, Tewari said the bank is not seeing any higher delinquency on the micro loans portfolio.

He also said there is a scope for the volumes on central bank digital currency to go up.