By Salee S Nair, MD and CEO, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank
“RBI’s latest policy initiatives point to a deeper shift in how banking growth will be defined in the coming cycle, less by volume alone and more by quality, trust and informed participation. Measures to protect senior citizens from digital fraud recognise that inclusion without confidence can weaken the system, and banks must design assisted, secure pathways for customers who are newly digital. The decision to raise the collateral-free MSME loan limit to ₹20 lakh acknowledges that India’s next phase of enterprise growth will be driven by small, often informal businesses that require timely, unsecured credit rather than complex structures. Similarly, permitting banks to lend to REITs signals a maturing financial ecosystem where long-term capital, asset monetisation and balance-sheet discipline can coexist. For banks like Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, with deep roots in MSME and community banking, these measures reinforce the need to align credit expansion with customer understanding. In that context, KYC is not compliance hygiene but the starting point of trust, enabling safer digital adoption, better risk assessment and sustainable banking relationships over time.”