Banking
infrastructure looks quite different today as the ATM has caught up customers.
There are 21,000 ATMs as against 55,000 branches, pegging the ratio of ATMs to
branches at 2:6. - Interestingly, around half of the ATMs are off-site ones, which
mean that they double up as branches for basic services.
The
second important change seen is in the composition of credit. Industry accounts
for around 40% of the total non-food credit, while personal loans have risen sharply
to 25%. Mortgages within this category account for a little over half of the loans.
Banks may have been indiscreet to expand their base with less due diligence. Also,
the mortgage business has raised the issue of creation of NPAs as monitoring of
individual accounts is more difficult than tracking the organizations.
Further,
within the industry, the infrastructure sector has the general share of 20% followed
by traditional industries like metals (12%), textiles (10.5%), chemicals (9%),
engineering (6%) and food processing (5.5%). The rise of infrastructure is significant
for two reasons. The first is that, with the advent of universal banking and the
gradual disappearance of term-lending institutions, infrastructure would be looking
at the banking sector for funds. However, this creates a problem for banks which
have an asset-liability management task on hand, as deposits are typically for
a period of 2-3 years, while such term loans stretch to 10-20 years depending
on the type of project. |
