Indian regulatory bodies have brought in “great transparency” in the domestic financial sector and are even being looked up by peer country regulators for the way they have enabled rapid domestic growth while ensuring prudent practices, UnionFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here today.

“Indian regulators and the way in which they are functioning have actually brought greater transparency to the system, and Indian regulators are being now looked up by even their peers outside, for the rapid way in which Indian markets, banks, insurance sector (has grown), and also the way in which we keep our books...they’re doing a world class job...,” she said at the FE Best Bank Awards held here today.

On SEBI chief

On allegations of conflict of interest surrounding Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chief Madhabi Puri Buch, Sitharaman said she strongly recommends that facts are taken on board before the industry discusses anything to do with the regulators.

“I’m not against any kind of questioning, I’m not against any kind of review, of critiquing, but we have to be extremely conscious that we look at our regulators for what they’ve done as well,” she said.

The FM also said that banks must focus on mobilising deposits to lend. While their core businesses should get confined only towards that exercise, they can support projects in a very conscious way. Banks must ensure that asset-liability mismatch do not occur, wherein they are lending for long-term and borrowing short-term funds.

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“You got into that situation, and together with it, to aggravate it, was also this phone banking where cronies were being given loans which you couldn’t retrieve at all...And that is why it is not for them (banks) to go for high risk, long-term funding, which is the business of the NABFID,” she said.

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