The year 2020 had its own set of ups and downs and now that the year is coming to an end, the customers are wanting to know what changes the year 2021 will bring in the financial setup of the country. It was in March when the Government of India announced a countrywide lockdown that the Banks and the NBFCs had to face additional wrath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the asset quality point of view, the banks did not face a lot of shocks as the Reserve Bank of India gave a six months moratorium to all terms loans that were given by the Banks and the NBFCs. They also let the banks do a One-time loan restructuring to take care of COVID related setbacks. This moratorium has saved the financial banks from an immediate NPA shock and the OTR has taken forward the moratorium by about two more years. A Supreme Court order recently barred banks from taking fresh accounts that were standard up till August 31 as NPAs. So far the banks have not reported a lot of applications for loan restructuring on both, corporate as well as retail borrowers. Alongside, there is also a certain amount of uncertainty due to the suspension of IBC (insolvency and bankruptcy) till March 2021.
The Banks are also trying to enhance their online presence. Almost all the banks and NBFCs are now offering modes of online queries and settlements. The pandemic has made it difficult for the customers to reach the banks and simultaneously for the bank employees to reach their clients, in such scenarios, Online Net Banking has come to the rescue. Banks are now offering not just the basic facilities but also helping the customers get loan sanctions and disbursals online. There was also a presence of a lot of digital glitches that banks had to take into consideration. In the year 2021, the banks will have to work harder to convince their customers that net banking is the right way to go along.
