Swaminathan urges banks to match growth with resilience
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J urged bank leaders to pair credit growth with stable funding, technological resilience and sound governance. At Indian Bank's leadership conference in Chennai, he emphasized capabilities that outlast individual tenures.
Growth needs durable funding
Swaminathan said sustainable credit expansion requires sound underwriting, appropriate risk pricing, assessment of repayment capacity and a stable, diversified deposit base.
Digital payments, artificial intelligence and data analytics are changing customer expectations, while fintech competition and household savings preferences are reshaping deposit mobilisation.
He placed operational and technological resilience alongside credit and market risk.
Cybersecurity, data protection, business continuity and oversight of third-party providers require senior management engagement, not just technology teams.
Clear accountability, internal controls, responsible lending, fair customer treatment and effective grievance redressal underpin trust.
A turnaround beyond one tenure
Indian Bank began business on August 15, 1907, forty years before independence; its legacy now includes Allahabad Bank.
Swaminathan cited Ranjana Kumar's turnaround as evidence that leadership decisions outlast their authors.
Chairman and Managing Director from May 2000 to November 2003, Kumar inherited negative capital adequacy and six consecutive years of losses.
The bank met restructuring targets and returned to net profit.
She was the first woman to head a public sector bank and later chaired NABARD from 2003 to 2005 before serving as a Vigilance Commissioner.
Results are not readiness
Swaminathan distinguished current financial performance from preparedness for the future.
He urged leaders to welcome challenge, develop younger colleagues and delegate responsibility beyond formal succession planning.
His test of leadership was the strength of the institution handed to successors.
Source: Leading today, building for tomorrow
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