Archive · 10 Sep 2026
SBI Chairman Urges Responsible Lending After FCNR(B) Liquidity Boost
Banks recently received a large boost of money through FCNR(B) deposits.
Axis Bank’s chief warned that banks might lend the money too quickly or unusually.
SBI Chairman Setty said he expects banks to lend responsibly.
Setty also discussed agentic AI, which can help banks serve customers and complete routine work.
He said AI needs to become affordable so it can be used by many people in India.
AI could allow employees to spend more time solving problems and helping customers.
However, people should still oversee complicated and risky financial decisions.
Setty said trust and safety should be built into AI systems from the beginning.
SBI Chairman Setty said banks would be responsible when lending the funds raised through FCNR(B) deposits.
Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhary had warned that deploying the funds could potentially cause abnormal lending.
Setty said State Bank of India is exploring agentic AI for customer engagement, employee productivity and risk management.
He said affordable computing and financial intelligence are necessary for agentic AI to reach more customers.
Setty supported human oversight for complex, high-risk financial decisions and said trust must be built into AI models.
- Who
- SBI Chairman Setty and Axis Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Chaudhary.
- What
- They discussed responsible lending after the FCNR(B) liquidity boost and the use of agentic AI in banking.
- When
- The lending comments were made on Wednesday, and Setty discussed agentic AI on Thursday.
- Where
- The comments were made during the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai and at a subsequent gathering on agentic AI and banking.
- Why
- The discussion focused on how banks would deploy the additional funds and how AI could improve banking while retaining human oversight for high-risk decisions.
Responsible Deployment
Risk Of Abnormal Lending
How banks should use the funds
Responsible Deployment
Setty said he expects everyone to be more responsible in lending after the FCNR(B) liquidity boost.
Risk Of Abnormal Lending
Chaudhary warned that banks seeking to deploy the funds could potentially engage in abnormal lending.
Role of humans in AI-enabled banking
Responsible Deployment
Setty said AI can automate data-heavy activities while employees focus on problem-solving and deeper customer engagement.
Risk Of Abnormal Lending
Setty also emphasized that complex, high-risk financial decisions require appropriate human oversight, reflecting concerns about relying too heavily on automated systems.
- Liquidity source
- FCNR(B) deposits provided a major liquidity boost for banks.
- SBI position
- Setty said banks would be more responsible in lending.
- Concern raised
- Amitabh Chaudhary warned that fund deployment could potentially lead to abnormal lending.
- AI adoption areas
- SBI plans to focus on customer engagement, employee productivity and risk management.
- AI affordability
- Setty said high-cost computing and AI models must become more affordable for large-scale use.
- Human oversight
- Setty said complex, high-risk financial decisions should continue to receive appropriate human supervision.
- AI principle
- He said trust should be embedded in agentic AI models because mistakes could have amplified consequences.