Think retail, think detail: More calibrated retail banking growth ahead

Retail banking is showing early signs of stress, and growth may well have peaked

I have been a career corporate banker, but this isn’t the way forward anymore,” says Samit Ghosh, founder of Ujjivan Financial Services. It could be that he helms a small finance bank wired to cater to the unbanked in the smaller towns and cities. But what you can’t get away from is that retail banking has been the engine of growth for banks (of all hues) ever since toxic corporate assets came into full glare. But the retail party, too, may be winding down.

The latest data from Experian Credit Information Company India (for the period July’FY20) suggests that stress is