NEW DELHI: Emphasising that corporate governance standards being followed by public sector banks are much better than ever before, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal today said the government has stopped the "phone-call thing" coming in from Delhi to the banks.
In an apparent dig at the previous UPA regime, Goyal said that not a single phone call would go to "give a loan, to address a loan, to restructure a loan or to settle a loan".
Against the backdrop of high amounts of stressed assets in the banking system, the ruling BJP had alleged that earlier, banks used to get calls from the higher ups in the national capital to provide loans to various entities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also made references to it while replying to the debate on no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha last month.
Goyal told the Lok Sabha today that the corporate governance standards being followed by public sector banks now are much better than ever before.
"We are proud to say that in these four years of this government, we have stopped the phone-call thing coming in from Delhi to the banks. Not a single phone call will go to give a loan, to address a loan, to restructure a loan or to settle a loan. We have given autonomy to the banks," he said during Question Hour.