Practices, tech must keep pace: Murthy

Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor NR Narayana Murthy today said bankers would need to change their mindset to keep pace with the technological changes in the sector and attendant changes in the pace of work.

"With information technology increasingly being adopted in banking operations, the fact that a change in the mindset is required for smooth implementation has been ignored," Murthy, said at the Bankers' Conference (Bancon) here. He said this factor would reflect the competitive differentiation among banks.

Murthy said over a period of time the focus in banking had moved towards customer convenience. "Information technology today touches every aspect of the banking, be it online ticket booking or ATM vending machines," he said.

He said at a time when the banking sector would need to adhere to international norms with respect various parameters like risk management, information technology would make adoption of such norms much easier.

ING Vysya Bank Managing Director and CEO Bart Hellmans echoed Murthy's views when he said banks should concentrate on changing processes in line with the software.

"Today the infotech sector is full of employees with an average age of 48, which is precisely resistant to change. It is this resistance that the banks have to guard against," Hellman said.

It was not just the application of information technology, but its smooth execution that would prove to be a challenge, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Jammu and Kashmir Bank Chairman and CEO MY Khan said the real challenge for the banking sector lay in bringing the benefits of new technology to rural and far-flung areas.