RBI asks banks to submit 'true data' for SLBC websites

Manual intervention in data reporting by banks on loan disbursements at the state level is leading to integrity issues, the Reserve Bank said today.

The Central bank asked lenders to submit the true data as reflected in their core banking system (CBS) on the state-level banking committee's website.

The RBI said discussions at State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), District level Consultative Committee (DCC) and Block Level Bankers Committee (BLBC) primarily focus on performance of banks in disbursement of loans vis-a-vis the allocated target under the Annual Credit Plan at present.

"The integrity and timeliness of the data submitted by banks for the purpose has been an issue as a significant portion of this data is manually compiled and entered into the Data Management Systems of the SLBC Convener Banks," it said.

"The extent to which this data corresponds with the data present in the CBS of the respective banks also varies significantly," it added.

The RBI said there is a need of a standardised system to be developed on the website maintained by each SLBC to enable uploading and downloading of the data pertaining to the Block, District as well as the State.

The RBI today came out with a revamp of the lead bank scheme, with action points for SLBCs, which had this suggestion.

Among other directives, it also asked lenders to ensure that the SLBCs focus on policy issues and specifically created sub-committees should take care of other issues.

It also asked the banks to align their corporate business targets with the annual credit plans prepared under the lead banks scheme.

The apex bank said the lead district managers play a critical role and asked bank heads to ensure that they have necessary leadership skills, are provided with office infrastructure and given a vehicle.