MUMBAI: The digital transformation in the financial sector is enabling faster and broader access to credit and also better credit assessment, particularly for small businesses, State Bank of India chairman CS Setty has said.
"Today, I am very proud to say that an SME customer with a loan requirement of up to Rs 5 crore can get approval within 25-26 minutes. This has been made possible essentially because of the humongous digital landscape we have created," Setty told the global fintech summit here Wednesday, highlighting the efficiency of the banking ecosystem.
Though usage of financial products such as insurance is gradually increasing, credit delivery through business channels still needs further enhancement, he said and to resolve this SBI is leveraging digital platforms and fintech partnerships for extensive use of data, including UPI transactions, GST and income tax payments, and also bank account statements, to ensure quicker and more reliable credit decisions for SMEs.
To address financial inclusion, Setty highlighted the importance of account usage beyond mere account opening. "We have opened almost 150 million Jan Dhan accounts (56% of them women accountholders), which start with zero balance. Today, 99.5% of these accounts are funded, with an average balance of about Rs 4,000. This demonstrates that even small amounts are being saved and used," he explained.
He also said account activity has also increased significantly, citing that PMJD accounts witness around 3.5 million transactions every day.
Financial inclusion, he said, is no longer limited to savings but also extends to credit and micro-insurance. Millions are now covered under life insurance, accidental insurance, and pension schemes, reflecting the growing usage and reach of financial products.
Through this digital and inclusive approach, SBI aims to ensure that banking services not only reach people but are actively used to improve financial security and entrepreneurship across the country.
The chairman also later said he hope to commercially launch the second version of its popular mobile app Yono 2.0 by the end of this year. For the past one-year the bank has been using it among closed user groups, he added.
“Yono 2.0 is a very complex, re-imagination of the mobile application. We are reimaging Internet banking, in fact the whole banking experience is being reimaged. And that’s what we want to offer to our customers with the revamped Yono, he said, adding we hope to launch it commercially by the end of the year.
On credit growth, the chairman of the nation’s largest bank which controls a fifth of the banking assets, said normally Q3 and Q4 are busy for credit and I hope the GST rate cuts should only add that normally higher credit demand going forward as the GST cuts along with festivals, and post-monsoon activity should fuel credit demand. Already there is better consumer demand.
