Tech is critical, but banks won't like to be tech companies: Citi India CEO

Banks build relationship of trust with customers and use technology as an enabler, says Ashu Khullar, CEO Citibank India

Ashu Khullar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Citibank India, said that technology is critical to any industry, but we wouldn't like to become technology companies.

Talking to Business Standard's consulting editor, Tamal Bandyopadhyay, at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2023 in Mumbai, Khullar said, "Banks build a relationship of trust with their customers. We use technology as an enabler."

He added: "Two-thirds of Citi's total technology analytics is done out of India."

On the global outlook, Khullar said, "The Indian story is very positive among the institutional customers of our bank. India as a market and talent source is at a very convincing place. Companies are trying their best to employ their capacities in India. However, nobody is going to completely leave China. China is important for them."

Amitabh Chaudhry, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Axis Bank, said that the banking sector is serving its customers using technology.

"In the current market space, we are servicing our customers in terms of technology-oriented services. However, in order to focus more on technology, we need more tech-savvy people who can combine tech and banking together.

On digital banking, he said that the banking sector needs more people comfortable with technology. "Tech companies believe their motto is to scale fast, but banks cannot do that. We have compliances and need approval from the regulator, and to become a tech company, we need more resources."

"A banker can be a techie. He only needs to be comfortable with technology. The high-end tech functioning can be done by professional tech people, but understanding basic technology is important in this era," he added.

On investment in technology, he said, "We will continue to invest in technology as there is no other option. We will grow across various platforms, but just being limited to a mobile app."

V Vaidyanathan, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of IDFC First Bank, said customers need banks to borrow, deposit, and make payments. "All these services can be upgraded using technology, and it can be used as an enabler for the banking industry."

On serving customers better using tech-driven services, Vaidyanathan said, "One of the important things is that technology has to be upgraded to enhance customer experience. Banks need an organisational structure and workforce that understands technology. The ability to manage human resources and technology is of supreme importance."

Rakesh Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of IDBI Bank, said that the core activity of banks is to enable financial services and transactions.

"Banks not updating themselves technologically are doing it at their own peril. In the last 6-7 years, the digital transactions by volume has grown more than 10 times, and value-wise, it has more than doubled. Banks can partner with fintech companies to gain from their expertise," he added.

He said, "Banking is a vast field and technology is only a part of it. Given the expanse of the banking industry, the person heading banking operations should be aware of the trends."

Hitendra Dave, chief executive officer (CEO) of HSBC, said that every business needs to be technology-enabled.

"Services such as cash collection, billing in the banking sector can be digitised but the core essence of banking still remains in the hands of bankers and not technology," he said.

He added: "Close to 1 billion Indians are now digitally literate. However, technology can act as an enabler in assisting services such as doing KYC and enabling payments, but people trust banks by depositing their savings and thus, trust is an important factor in this sector."

However, he said, a banking company should not completely become a tech company as people need other people as a medium for their transactions.

On digital banking, he said, "Customers determine whether they want us to serve them digitally or in the conventional way. There are some customers who visit our bank branches just to discuss their family issues. This could only be done by personal visits."

On advertising, Dave said, "HSBC is spending a lot of money on advertising, and sponsorship events. There has been an increase in the affluent population in the last few years. These people need an international bank, when they send their children abroad to study, etc. Thus, advertising is an important component to reach our customers."

Zarin Daruwala, chief executive officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered, said that "technology is a hygiene today".
 

"Technology is a hygiene today, whether it's servicing, payments or transactions," she said.

On digital banks, she said, "A pure digital bank can cater to the youth who need no outside help to navigate around but there are still people who need branch access to make use of banking services."

"We give customers both the options of digital and branch services. It is on them to pick the best option for themselves," she added.

On becoming a techy, she said, "You should have a banker who understands compliance and risk. You can have a high-quality tech team, but you need a CEO who understands tech and trends."

She added: "As a CEO, you need to understand technology. If a CEO does not have focus on governance, compliance, you may risk your licence."