The Economic Times successfully concludes first edition of NBFC & MFI Summit 2018
The Economic Times NBFC & Micro Finance summit held today at The Lalit Mumbai saw industry doyens deliberate on growing significance of NBFCs & MFIs in the industry. The summit highlighted the role of NBFCs in promoting India’s economic growth. It also analyzed the opportunities, challenges and problems faced by this sector and the way forward.
Commencing the conference with his opening remarks, Raman Agrawal, Chairman, FIDC & Senior VP Corporate Affairs, SREI, stated that the flow of non-bank resources to the corporate sector, which includes bond market borrowing and lending by NBFCs, has increased by 43% from April 2017 to December 2017. According to RBI Financial Stability Report Dec 2017, NBFCs were the largest net borrowers of funds from the financial system, hence there are huge growth opportunities.
In a panel discussion held on the role of Financial Inclusion, George Alexander Muthoot, MD, Muthoot Finance, said, “We are looking at using customer’s credit score to give them unsecured loans as most of the gold customers do not have home of their own. Considering the power that technology holds, we are constantly trying to use and evolve technology in a way that is beneficial and creates hassle-free experience for most customers.” Govind Sankaranarayan, Head- Strategy, Tata Capital, said, “Combination of partnership & database helps in increasing penetration of financial inclusion. To reach large numbers of customers successfully & minimize risk we have partnered with various governments to use their database and identify customer worthiness. Thus lending has been productive.”
Talking about the event, Deepak Lamba, President – Times Strategic Solutions, said “The summit was initiated to highlight the growth, success, challenges and other concerns of the industry through interactive panel discussions, keynotes and un-conferencing sessions. We are grateful to the legends from the finance industry that gathered here today for the larger good of the financial community by sharing inputs on factors affecting the rapid growth and upcoming opportunities within the NBFC & MFI space.”
The discussion on ‘Financial Disruption: Laying digital footprints to drive financial inclusion’ saw Suresh A Shanmugam, National Head of BITS & CTO, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial services touch upon the usage of digitalization. He said, “The audience wants something that is engaging enough for a lifetime and hence, using as much as information available will lead to a rise in the use of digital platforms. With the help of these digital platforms, the rural sector will find something reliable enough for them to trust in”. Voicing his opinion, Punit Jain, CEO, Nelito, said, “Agility is very important as it sets the banks apart. Banks function slower as compared to the NBFCs, which is why agility is important. Technological advancements like the use of mobile phones & the internet can help in making information easily accessible anytime anywhere. Hence reducing the demand & reliance on bank branches”. Sanjay Sharma, Managing Director, Aye Finance, stated that modern methods overcome key challenges that had overwhelmed conventional lending. Providing further insights, Satrajit Saha, CBO, TransUnion CIBIL, said, “Digitalization gives us the ability to present multiple choices and reach the larger audience at quicker pace. This will indirectly give rise to larger NBFCs.”
On his views on regulations, its evolution and prospective changes, Rakesh Singh, CEO, Aditya Birla Finance, said, “NBFCs and MFIs must have a last resort of borrowing like the banking sector. Manish Jaiswal, MD & CEO, Magma Housing Finance said, “NBFCs & MFIs are the largest propellants of ushering finance into the country”.
The summit was a momentous event for networking with like-minded people from the sector, which concluded with useful inputs like technology is not only at the head of banking and financial services, but also an increasingly digitalized India has underpinned the rise of NBFCs. Another major advantage of NBFCs is their ground level understanding of their customers profile and their credit needs, which gives them an edge, as their ability to customize their products according to client needs.
About ET Edge
Times Strategic Solutions Ltd., functional under the brand name ET Edge, is an Economic Times initiative founded to empower multiple industries and segments by sharing critical business knowledge through strategic conferences and summits. Encompassing the Indian business vista, ET Edge strives to bring together visionaries and key leaders on its knowledge platforms to create social and business ecology conducive to the positive changes required by the industry. The main aim of this initiative is to channel global business intelligence through summits and conferences in overarching lectures, hands-on workshops, panels, roundtables and case studies.
