Speeches & Media Interactions

Shared Vision, Shared Responsibility – Strengthening NBFCs (Speech by Shri Swaminathan J, Deputy Governor at the Conference of Non-Banking Financial Companies held at Chennai on March 28, 2025) CA Shri Charanjot Singh Nanda, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India; Chairpersons of the Audit Committee of the Boards, MDs & CEOs of NBFCs, and Statutory Auditors of NBFCs, Executive Directors from RBI and my colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India, Ladies and Gentlemen. A very good morning to all of you.

A strong and resilient financial system is the bedrock on which the edifice of economic prosperity of a nation is built. Reserve Bank of India is the custodian of our financial system. It completed 90 years of its journey yesterday. The theme for our 90th year was ‘Stability, Trust and Growth’.

Her Excellency, the President of India, Hon'ble Governor of Maharashtra, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Hon'ble Union Minister of Communications, Hon'ble Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, distinguished invitees, representatives of the media, and my colleagues from the Reserve Bank, past and present.

It is a pleasure to be here at the Private Sector Collaborative Forum (PSCF) 2025 of the Financial Action Task Force. I am happy to note that this is the first time that the forum is being held in India. I thank FATF for giving us this opportunity. In my previous role as the Secretary in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, I had the opportunity of being closely associated with the FATF during our mutual evaluation last year.

I am delighted to participate in this year’s Annual Conference of the RBI Ombudsmen. The Reserve Bank has been organising this conference on or around the World Consumer Rights Day, that is, 15th March. World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year with the aim of raising global awareness about consumer rights and needs. We organise this conference to reflect on our achievements with regard to consumer services and to deliberate on how to improve services and reduce grievances. We need to improve consumer services, not only because it is our duty to do so, but because it is in our selfish interest to do so. In this age of competition, we would not survive long if we do not provide quality service to our consumers.

1. Chairpersons and Directors of the Boards of Small Finance Banks; Chief Executive Officers of SFBs; Executive Directors, Chief General Managers and colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India; ladies and gentlemen. A very good morning to all of you. 2. It is an honour to address this distinguished gathering in the inaugural conference of Board of Directors of Small Finance Banks organised by the RBI. As has been mentioned, this conference is in continuation of the Reserve Bank’s efforts to reach out to its supervised entities through a direct dialogue with their Boards and Top Management. Our objective is to reaffirm the importance of good governance for maintaining financial stability and fostering sustainable growth.

As Reserve Bank of India enters its 90th year today, April 1, 2024, it’s time to reflect upon its journey through the multitude of overlapping shocks over the last few years. The pandemic, followed by continuing geopolitical crises in several parts of the world tested the resilience of every economy, including that of India. Nevertheless, it is satisfying to note that, as a country, we’ve navigated through this period of ‘great volatility’ remarkably well.

It gives me great pleasure to be here at Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. While the winter outside is cold, the warmth of coming together of eminent leaders and experts from diverse fields more than compensates for it. These meetings assume greater relevance when fundamental changes are taking place in a global scale that would potentially shape our common destiny. I thank the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for giving me this opportunity to speak at this event. Recent information on the global macroeconomic front has been somewhat reassuring with inflation gradually descending closer to the target, even as growth has held up better than expected. The odds of a soft landing have increased and this has enthused the financial markets. Financial conditions have eased, and markets have scaled new highs, raising concerns that they might be running ahead of themselves. At this critical juncture, certain hard facts have to be kept in mind, namely, global growth is slowing down; geopolitical situation continues to be fragile with new flash points and fear of supply chain disruptions; geo-economic fragmentation remains unabated undermining global trade; and the daunting climate related challenges are holding their ground.

Good Morning to you all! I am delighted to be here again at the prestigious Annual Central Banking Seminar, a flagship event of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for which it has earned global renown. It is truly an honour to interact with central bankers from around the world, our community of tomorrow. You embody the theme of India’s G20 Presidency – Vasudhaivya Kutumbakam: the world is one family. 

The Climate is Striking Back

In my past interactions in this Seminar, I have dwelled on macroeconomic stability; price stability; exchange rate stability; financial stability – all essentially issues centered around the core competence of conservative central bankers from which we are reluctant to stray. After all, central banks stand for stability.

Shri V G Sekar, Principal, College of Agricultural Banking, Heads of Priority Sector verticals of banks, Members of faculty from CAB, Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning. 1. I thank CAB for inviting me today to discuss a critical topic that lies at the crossroads of financial institutions' responsibilities and our collective vision for a better, more sustainable world. I propose to briefly discuss the aspect of sustainable finance to begin with before coming to the theme of the conclave, that is Priority Sector Lending, as I believe that there is a strong interplay between these two.