Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I am a results-driven career Banker with over 35 years of Banking and Fintech experience in driving strategy and excellence across multiple banks and geographies. With a proven track record of success in leadership roles and expertise in building teams, businesses, strategic planning, and innovation, I have served in senior leadership roles with HDFC Bank for over 23 years.
Following my tenure at HDFC Bank, I embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, serving as Director and President at SwinkPay Fintech Pvt. Ltd for 3 years. I have invested in multiple startups and serve as a mentor to co-founders.
I have recently transitioned into Consulting and have served as Director and Strategic Advisor for the BFSI practice at Nagarro, a leading IT consulting firm. At Primus Partners, I have joined as an Advisor, and the company is leveraging my industry expertise on business decisions and strategy.

Q2. Are you seeing any shifts in customer expectations around personalization and speed of service in BFSI?

With the advent of digitization, FinTechs have brought about a significant disruption in the BFSI space. The pressure on Banks to move away from core banking solutions and adopt more modern ways of working has led to product innovation, design thinking, and an enhanced customer experience. Banks are investing heavily in technology to upgrade their existing systems and partnering with Fintechs to attract customers. There is cutthroat competition among banks to deliver out-of-the-box customer experiences and digital journeys to match customer expectations and speed of service. In India, there are approx. 1.2 billion internet users, and out of that, 1.05 billion access the internet via mobile phones. 
The BFSI ecosystem is shifting most of its journeys to STP-state through processes aimed at reducing resource costs. To give an example, if one visits a bank and tries to withdraw money from it costs approximately 100 plus rupees as there is a manual processing cost involved vis a vis if one withdraws from an ATM is 1/10th of the cost as you have invested in hardware at the ATM screen the customer also gets a preapproved product offering basis his profile and balances or credit history. India processes 94% of transactions digitally, 28% of accounts in the Banking ecosystem are onboarded digitally, 40% of personal loans are disbursed digitally, and 14% of other loans. The volumes handled by BFSI institutions digitally are enormous, and no bank can afford to compromise on customer experience. 
Wealth management and Insurance companies are innovating and disrupting the market with digital products that are cost-effective and easy to buy for customers, resulting in customer delight. Twenty-eight billion plus apps have been downloaded in India, accounting for 5% of the global downloads. Additionally, 36% of digital payment users are from rural India, highlighting the digital payment infrastructure this country has created to deliver an enhanced customer experience.
Private sector banks are offering more than 200 services on net banking and 100 services on Mobile and are constantly migrating customers to digital channels to improve their cost-to-income ratio and customer satisfaction. Gen Z, which is always on the go, has less patience and loyalty – they shift fast if the expectations are not met. Additionally, for the personalization of services, the BFSI is offering profile-based services and customizing products to attract customers. 
Private wealth managers or relationship managers have been assigned steep targets to onboard customers through digital channels, aiming to save costs and cross-sell products through digital journeys. Customer expectations around personalization and speed of service are high, and there is pressure on Banks and Financial services providers to keep their systems up and running and can’t afford outages. A bad experience can lead to a shift from a customer to a competitor. Each bank has adopted the NPS – Net Promoter Score- to measure customer experience and engagement with its resources.

Q3. How do you see green finance and sustainability-linked lending evolving in India’s financial services space?

Every country, including India, has carbon emission norms, and India has committed to net zero emissions by 2070. The green finance landscape is emerging fast; banks and financial institutions are committed to sustainability-linked lending, and there are incentives to borrowing companies with loan interest rates linked to their commitment to sustainability, including their supply chain. India has attracted more than $20 billion in green bonds; the RBI has also directed banks and NBFCs to accept green deposits and lend to environmentally friendly projects. However, there are challenges to green lending, especially in the MSME sector, due to a lack of knowledge and zeal to adopt and buy-in by the board to follow ESG in letter and spirit. There is no standardization of data and metrics to evaluate sustainability performance. Corporate India and financial institutions need to make significantly more efforts than they are currently making.

Q4. Which segments within the BFSI landscape are currently showing the fastest growth — retail, SME, or corporate banking? Can you share any indicative figures or trends?

Banks are focusing more on retail lending, as it generates more interest income for the banks and increases their bottom line. However, retail lending requires scale for the business to be profitable. Unsecured loans were seen as a huge opportunity by NBFCs and banks, as NBFCs were lending small to large ticket loans at almost double the MCLR rate, based on the risk profile. Meanwhile, NBFCs are taking the route of embedded finance through tie-ups with Fintech and digital lending platforms. Off late, the regulator has come out heavily on the apps doing digital lending and then harassing customers on recovery, and the guidelines have been set for the NBFC on maintaining enough liquidity; the Credit to Deposit ratio of the large banks is under stress as deposits are growing only at 10 % whereas credit offtake or demand is at 15 % so there is a liquidity crisis in the system and the Banks are taking a conscious call on lending. The corporate is seeing a slowdown as compared to MSME loans. MSME loans are also being supported by the government through MUDRA Yojna and Credit Guarantee Funds Trust for micro and small enterprises. The MSME lending market is around 19.5 lakh crore. The retail lending market has shown significant growth, with the consumption loan portfolio expanding by 15.2% to reach 19.5 trillion.
The Banks are extremely cautious in lending to large corporates due to the additional LFR – Liquidity funding ratio to be maintained as per RBI guidelines and the possibility of NPAs.

Q5. How is the competitive landscape evolving with new entrants (e.g., Big Tech, telcos, NBFCs) entering core BFSI domains?

Large companies seeking to enter BFSI domains can only survive if they have a long-term strategy in place, along with the right technology and disruptive products.

Q6. Do you believe  AI will significantly reduce operational costs in banking, or is its value more in revenue enhancement and customer stickiness?

With AI being the new buzzword, every company or financial institution wants to adopt customer stickiness but struggles to utilize AI effectively. The big data in the Banks is sitting in silos, and there is no integration. Till the time data is integrated, AI will not be able to bring about the desired benefits or cost efficiencies. To have a meaningful, full AI tool, banks should integrate their data, and then the objective of AI will be to support the creation of a profile-based, customer-centric product that enhances revenue and customer delight. Companies are developing robots, anticipating that AI will be widely adopted.
Data integration will lead to data mining and the creation of a value proposition for customers, resulting in operational efficiencies, cost reduction, and enhanced revenue.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

I would first review the profile of the promoters; if it is credible, then I would proceed with the discussion. The founders should have relevant experience or background that demonstrates a return on investment (ROI) for their investors.
My questions would be simple:
•    What’s the purpose of this company – Mission statement 
•    Business plan for next 3 years 
•    Revenue streams 
•    And break-even target, if not already achieved 
•    EBIDTA