A Reforms Agenda of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) aimed at Enhanced Access & Service Excellence (EASE) and encapsulating a synergistic approach to ensuring prudential and clean lending, better customer service, enhanced credit availability, focus on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and better governance has been adopted. Reforms in the agenda include, inter alia, making it easier for MSMEs and retail customers to transact, significantly increasing access to banking services, near-home banking services, time-bound refund on unauthorised electronic transactions, and mobile ATMs in underserved districts.

Steps taken by Government to reform Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) include, inter alia, the following:-

(i) Enactment of Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Act 2015 to strengthen the capital base and improve their overall capabilities and making provision for RRBs to raise capital from source other than Central Government or State Government or Sponsor Bank, subject to the shareholding of Central Government and Sponsor Bank shall not be less than fifty-one per cent,

(ii) Revision of guidelines to make the system of appointment of auditors for RRBs more objective and transparent to improve quality of audit, and

(iii) Improvement in the recruitment process.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in a Written Reply to a Question in Rajya Sabha.

Banking reform agenda enhances prudential lending, customer access, MSME support and governance across public and rural banks. A reform agenda for public sector banks emphasizes enhanced access, service excellence, and strengthened prudential lending by easing transactions for retail customers and MSMEs, expanding near home banking and mobile ATMs, ensuring time bound refunds for unauthorised electronic transactions, and promoting cleaner lending and improved governance. Complementary reforms for Regional Rural Banks strengthen capital bases and permissible capital sources while preserving public sponsorship shares, revise auditor appointment guidelines for greater objectivity and audit quality, and improve recruitment processes to enhance institutional capability.