The first indications that things are changing at UTI is the decision to hold meetings with corporates in which it has substantial investments after the announcement of their quarterly results. Given the will, UTI can easily become a great force for change in corporate attitudes to shareholders in this country. It is often said that those who cannot sell are forced to care.

In other words, if you hold too much of a corporate to be able to sell it, you have no alternative but to care about the corporate's policies. Financial institutions in India, just like the pension funds in the US, can easily use their vast holdings in companies to ensure that shareholder value is created. Unfortunately, however, they have often been part of the nexus between vested interests in the corporate world, the financial sector, and thegovernment, and they have taken care not to rock the boat. For the meetings with corporates to have any tangible effect, this attitude must change.

Companies must be forced, if need be, to become more transparent. UTI is well placed to force corporate disclosure. Even more to the point, company managements which underperform need to be changed. This is where the real test for the FIs lies. So far, even promoters who owe FIs huge amounts have been allowed to go scot-free inspite of a large chunk of their equity being controlled by the FIs. The financial institutions are also uniquely positioned to take the lead in helping the restructuring of the corporate sector, a process which can only help in unlocking shareholder value.