By Ashish Kajla* Banks act as financial intermediaries between depositors and borrowers. It is the public money, deposited in the form of term deposit (fixed deposits) and time deposit (saving & current accounts) which banks use for lending to borrowers. Since public money is important for the banking sector as a whole, banks also have a … More Bank charges imposed on saving accounts hurt the poor most who have hesitantly adopted them

By Moin Qazi It is true that banks can play an important role in the financial transformation of   low-income communities, but sustainability should never be overlooked .in their excitement to oblige their constituencies, politicians run financially amok and literally plunder banks for their vote blocks. This was precisely the reason why India’s post nationalization mass … More Social banking: Make-believe revolution that was to lead to serious financial crisis in years to come


By 
Prabhakar Kulkarni* Since the disclosure of the Punjab National Bank fraud, banks and their transactions are in 
focus of both the investigating agencies as also the media
 organizations. This is in public interest. But action and
 investigation in a few banks and in few cases and neglecting or 
sidetracking other similar cases and the … More Why exclusivity of investigation? Action against banks needs to be based on principle of equity

By Moin Qazi* Rural banking has come a long way from the days when bankers had their first brush with rural culture. Bankers are now financial anthropologists, and many of them are playing a missionary role in transforming rural societies. However, challenges continue to persist. When rural banking took its baby steps, villagers were shy … More Present urban-centric bank model has shown that it is a recipe for disaster when used in villages

Mumbai resolution* of the People’s Convention on “Infrastructure Financing Challenging Undemocratic & Destructive Global Finance: Building Political and Economic Alternatives”: We, representatives of social movements, adivasis, dalits, women, farmers, fisherfolk, forest workers, trade unions, civil society organisations from across India, together with solidarity groups from Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, who have gathered at … More Need to resist hegemony of undemocratic and unaccountable financial institutions such as AIIB

A note on the two-day civil society-sponsored people’s convention on infrastructure finance, organized on the eve of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) board meeting, to take place in Mumbai  on June 25-26, 2018:   Peoples Convention on Infrastructure Financing – A response to AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) Annual Meeting is the coming together … More A south-led multilateral development bank, AIIB should have its ears and eyes close to the ground

Excerpts from the report, “Peoples’ Convention on Infrastructure Financing: A Peoples’ response to AIIB Annual Meeting”, released as curtain-raiser ahead of Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs’) meet on June 21-23, 2018 in Mumbai: The 3rd Annual Governors Meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank [AIIB] will be held in Mumbai, India from 24-25 June 2018. This two-year-old … More AIIB, unlike older banks, does not have a clear line on reducing poverty, other safeguard issues