A bank’s reputation, once established, becomes one of its most valuable assets. In an environment of rising competition and evolving customer expectations, the way forward lies in building upon a customer-centric approach that fosters trust, loyalty, and long-term value.
The tools of banking have evolved rapidly—from passbooks and ledgers to core banking platforms, mobile apps, real-time payment systems and artificial intelligence.
- These tools define how services are delivered, how decisions are made, and increasingly, how risks are managed. In this environment, a bank’s technological capabilities are no longer just operational enablers; they have become strategic differentiators.
- However, every tool comes with responsibility. The speed and scale of digital adoption must be matched by equally strong investments in cybersecurity, data governance, and ethical safeguards. Recent global and domestic experiences have shown that technology gaps, if not addressed in time, can become points of systemic vulnerability.
- For banks looking to scale up responsibly, tools must be modern, agile, and continuously evolving. More importantly, they must be well-governed. Technology must never outrun the organisation’s capacity to manage it. Directors and senior management must lead this conversation, ensuring that risk, compliance, and internal audit functions have the resources and visibility needed to keep pace.
riven by intense competitive pressures and a desire to project short-term success, the management of certain banks and NBFCs appears to believe that the ends justify the means. Practices such as creative accounting, liberal interpretations of regulations, lenient policy frameworks, and inadequate internal controls are being normalised in some boardrooms—necessitating supervisory intervention. Though such instances may be limited, they risk eroding the public’s trust in the integrity of the banking system.
- Therefore, it is important to pursue growth with systems, people, and processes that are aligned and rooted in ethical practices—from the boardroom to the branch.
Changing demographics, climate variability, digital access, migration patterns, and sectoral shifts are constantly reshaping the operating environment. As India progresses towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, banks will be called upon to adapt continuously—to serve a more aspirational, mobile, and digitally connected population.