Swaminathan J urges banks to match digital growth with controls
Digital growth must preserve controls and customer trust, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J said in Mumbai on October 15, 2026. He urged institutions to measure resilience by response speed as well as financial buffers.
Faster processes still need safeguards
India's financial system has improved asset quality and comfortable capital positions, Swaminathan J told the Financial Express Modern BFSI Summit 2026.
He urged institutions to preserve those strengths as technology and interconnectedness increase.
Digital onboarding, AI-led underwriting and autonomous workflows can lower costs and widen access, but verification, maker-checker arrangements and cooling-off periods serve control functions.
Replacing a manual check with an algorithm does not remove the underlying risk.
Institutions must identify where each control resides after redesigning a process.
Outsourcing loan sourcing, distribution or model support does not transfer the regulated entity's responsibility.
Resilience runs against the clock
Capital, liquidity and provisioning remain fundamental, but Swaminathan J said resilience also depends on detection, decisions and recovery speed.
He cited $42 billion of deposits moving in one day during the 2023 US banking stress.
Internal information must reach officials with authority to act before risks become difficult to contain.
He proposed measuring how quickly bad news travels through an institution, supported by strong risk, compliance and audit functions and boards that actively seek emerging concerns.
Trust outlasts transaction volume
Swaminathan J's test of growth extends beyond balance-sheet size to controls, fair conduct and durable trust.
Sales incentives, customer data use and complaint patterns belong within risk oversight.
Fraud at one institution can erode confidence across the system.