Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Need to focus on financial literacy

CHENNAI: There is a growing need to focus on financial literacy among people as even a majority of educated do not understand implications of day-to-day financial decisions they take. A wrong investment decision can prove costly in today’s challenging market and non-judicious borrowings can ruin industries and families. Spreading awareness is an area where consumer associations and banks can work together, said K. Unnikrishnan, Chief Executive of the Indian Banks Association.

Addressing a seminar on “responsibilities and rights of consumers and banks in banking industry,” Mr. Unnikrishnan said post-liberalisation era had seen significant changes in banking environment and there was a paradigm shift in banker-customer relationship. Changes in products and services had made customer service a more challenging task for the banks as they had to cope with increased expectations of customers. Customers too found it difficult to understand and appreciate features of various products and services and terms and conditions attached to the products, he added.

S. Ramakrishnan, former Chief Commissioner, RTI Commission, Tamil Nadu, inaugurating the seminar said Right to Information Act had helped people to get answers for their queries relating to banks.

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