HOW WE DID IT

The methodology for the BT-KPMG Best Banks Survey 2019

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Banking sector saw signs of stability in 2019. The year saw the government announcing the biggest-ever consolidation of public sector banks (PSBs), increased capital raising by private banks, peaking of bad loan provisioning, deterioration of asset quality and return to higher operating profits. It is in this backgdrop that Business Today-KPMG started the annual exercise of picking India’s Best Banks and Fintechs. This six-month process started with knowledge partner KPMG studying annual reports of banks and reaching out to them for qualitative inputs in areas such as rural outreach, innovation, and fintech engagement. The team also reached out to the fintech community in areas of Payments, Lending and Value Added Services to arrive at a list of best five in each category.

The next step was to put the entire Best Banks and Fintech study before an external jury to decide the winners. The jury comprised Vinayak Bahuguna, MD & CEO, ARCIL India; Arun Purwar, Former Chairman, State Bank of India; Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, Desai Haribhakti Group; Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD, JSW Steel; and Sandeep Chiber, India Head, FIS Global.

The jury commended the inherent strengths of Indian banking. There was a lengthy discussion to decide the “Bank of the Year” where the jury gave a joint award to HDFC Bank and SBI. Apart from the financial performance of top banks in quantitative terms, the jury also looked at qualitative factors. The members deliberated on issues like succession and leadership. They also talked about governance issues. The trust factor was also touched upon in view of the recent debacle at some cooperative banks. The quality of banks’ books and market perception also found mention in the deliberations.