Banks should deeply involve their stakeholders: Ram Nath Kovind

Pune: Applauding banks for their efforts to bring in large unbanked population of the country into the formal financial system, President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said the challenge now is to "deeply involve" those who have been brought into the fold.

Speaking at the golden jubilee celebration of the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), he said the progress of the country depends on the contribution of the collective economic strength of the poor and urged banks to not leave any citizen behind.

"The challenge before us is to deeply involve those included. I would urge all of you to think of financial products which meet the needs of those at the bottom of the ladder," Kovind said.

The best way for a bank to gain market depth and de-risk its operations is by bringing more people into the ambit of formal financial system, he said.

"Deep involvement of those at the bottom of ladder requires display of empathy and compassion by Bankers. This needs greater engagement on part of banks with our underprivileged population and attitudinal change towards them," he said.

The president also asked banks to take proactive measures to bring greater gender parity in ownership of financial assets.