(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Banks are Safe

Topic: Banks are Safe

Guest:

Ajay Dua, (Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry)
R. Gopalan, (Former Secretary, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, GOI)
Prof. Aman Agarwal, (Director, Indian Institute of Finance)

Topic Description:

The Reserve Bank of India has assured the public that the Indian banking system is in sound state and there is no need to panic. The clarification came in the light of rumours around certain commercial and co-operative banks, causing panic among depositors. Last month, the RBI had issued a statement refuting social media rumours that nine state-owned banks would be closed. Most of the banks named in these rumours were part of the latest round of bank consolidation announced by the Finance Ministry to merge 10 public sector banks into four global-sized lenders. In its earlier statement, the RBI had said that the government was trying to strengthen the public sector banks and there was no question of closing down any one of them. The central bank also said that the government is working on reforms and capital infusion in PSU banks so that they can better serve their customers. Depositors are worried after the RBI clampdown on Mumbai-based Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank, affecting lakhs of customers.