Banks to Shift to Bonds as Savings Move to Markets: SBI MD

Speaking at the sidelines of FICCI's "Financial Products Distribution Summit 2026" event in Mumbai on Wednesday, he discussed the evolving funding landscape for banks and the movement of household savings towards investments, Tewari said banks are already using market instruments to raise resources.

"Banks are already thinking about this. You see banks raising money through CDs, through infra-bonds, whatever instruments of securitization," Tewari said during an interaction.

He added that while deposits still remain the primary funding source for banks, the sector may gradually shift towards alternative instruments if needed.

"Banks are already using such instruments. They have not become the main source so far. Main source is still deposits. But if it comes to it, banks have to shift to these instruments," he said.

Tewari also addressed concerns around the growing shift of household savings from deposits towards investment products such as mutual funds, saying the trend is visible across the financial sector and is unlikely to reverse.

"One is that the movement from savings to investment is happening. Everyone is looking at it and it is not reversing. So the bank has to work with mutual funds in the interest of the customer," he said.

At the same time, he asserted that banks would continue to remain relevant despite changing investment preferences among consumers.

"This does not mean that the bank will not be relevant," he said.

On mis-selling, the SBI MD said the bank takes complaints related to mis-selling "very, very seriously" and claimed that SBI's numbers are among the lowest in the industry.

"On this, numbers of mis-selling are the lowest in the industry. And that is not only now. It has been there for last three years. The lowest in the industry for every segment," Tewari said.

He added that SBI follows a verification process, especially in the insurance business, to ensure customers are not being forced into buying products.

"In the insurance space we do a first call goes to a customer that are you wanting to buy this? After the policy is shown, another call goes to say whether you are forced into it or it was a conscious decision to buy," he said.

"We take every single case of mis-selling very seriously," he added.

Tewari also spoke about the need for digital financial solutions for feature phone users, arguing that excessive focus on smartphones could lead to exclusion in a country like India.

"I believe that for a country like India, where the feature phone is still one third, it is very necessary to make a solution for the feature phone," he said.

He added that technology and digital companies also need to focus on such users despite the lower commercial incentives involved.

"But if we do not make them a solution, then there will be exclusion," Tewari said.

On cyber frauds, the SBI MD said the number of such incidents is rising and stressed the need for stronger authentication systems beyond passwords and OTPs.

"The number is increasing," he said, adding that regulators and the government may need to explore systems such as mandatory Face ID verification beyond certain transaction thresholds.

"We have to think ahead of the hacker at all times. This is a work in progress," he added.

- ANI