The Indian banking space, in years to come, will witness a small number of large banks as compared to the present existence of a large number of small banks. Also, micro finance institutions will be able to offer only financial products and not financial solutions.

These were some of the views aired by speakers at a round-table discussion on the future of financial services in India.

Speaking at the event titled Vision 2020: Indian Financial Services Sector, co-hosted by Wipro, NDTV and The Financial Express in Mumbai, SK Bhattacharya, managing director, State Bank of India(SBI) said, “Mergers and acquisitions in the Indian banking space are inevitable in future. Size is essential for banks in India to grow in years to come.”

The challenge for all banks in India is to address two set of customers simultaneously. “One set of customers are tech-savvy ones and the other comprises customers who are first time bank account holders,” he said.

Neeraj Swaroop, regional chief executive, India and south Asia, Standard Chartered Bank said that fear of bad debts will not impede banks in India to boost their growth.

He stated that next decade will turn out to be the most favorable span for banks that would implement technology at minimal costs to reach out to masses.

M Ramadoss, chairman and managing director, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd said that the vision by 2020 for the country’s general insurers should be to raise the insurance sector’s contribution to the GDP up to 3% at least from the current 0.6% level. Participating in an another session, Nasser Munjee, chairman, Development Credit Bank (DCB) said that in India, micro finance institutions will be able to offer only financial products and not financial solutions as currently offered by the banks to all segments of the society.

Former Bombay Stock Exchange managing director and CEO Rajnikant Patel suggested a dire need to establish a growth exchange in India in a bid to promote financial inclusion. Vikram Akula, founder and CEO, SKS Microfinance said that a rapid blend of urban economy with rural India is possible only through promotion of alternate banking channels and allied services.