SRINAGAR: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Rohit Jain has called on banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir to improve credit delivery, expand banking services to underserved sections and adopt the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) for faster loan processing.
Jain made the remarks while chairing a meeting with zonal heads of major banks operating in the Union Territory in Srinagar on Friday, where he reviewed the banking and financial landscape of J&K.
He stressed the need for banks to maintain adequate banking infrastructure and ensure greater outreach of financial services to priority sectors and underserved sections of society.
Jain said coordinated efforts were required from banks to meet the changing credit requirements of the Union Territory, according to an official release.
He also emphasised customer service and grievance redressal, urging banks to remain responsive to the needs of customers.
The RBI deputy governor called for greater digitalisation of banking services while flagging concerns over the growing incidence of digital frauds.
On credit delivery, Jain emphasised increasing loan processing through the Unified Lending Interface, highlighting its potential to transform lending in a manner similar to the impact of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on digital payments.
During the meeting, the Regional Director, RBI, Jammu, gave an overview of the financial landscape of J&K and outlined the economic potential of sectors including agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), tourism, handicrafts and services.
The zonal heads of major banks subsequently presented an overview of their operations in the Union Territory.
The presentations covered the banking network, credit-deposit ratio, credit flow and priority sector lending, besides progress in onboarding banks onto the ULI platform.
The meeting also reviewed re-KYC coverage and the settlement of unclaimed deposits, along with special initiatives undertaken by individual banks for Jammu and Kashmir
