Banking at a crossroads: Why 2022 may well be another reset year

Pandemic-related regulations are set to run their course and an uptick in interest rates is in the offing.

Cheers to a decadal first!

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is of the view that state-run banks should raise funds from the bourses rather than depend on the Centre for recapitalisation. It is unlikely that funds will be earmarked for this purpose in the upcoming Union Budget to be announced on February 1. According to her, the “4R strategy” — Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms — has resulted in an improvement in banks’ financials. In 2018, only two of the 21 state-run banks were profitable; in 2020-21, only two of them reported losses.

Their cumulative net profit was Rs 14,012 crore in the