Govt's digital push, rise of investment platforms to diminish growth of RMs

Relationship managers or RMs, in the past decade or so, have been the cornerstone of every private bank’s revenues. They sell almost every financial product—from fixed deposits, mutual funds and insurance—and also offer advice. But if the smoke signs on the horizon materialise, there’s evidence that could all change.

The government-led digital push for banks has resulted in most lenders opening fewer and smaller sized branches which logically results in fewer RMs. Industry reports point to the number of internet connections nearing 500 million and millennials are prone to doing business digitally as opposed to walk-ins. The widespread availability of broadband