Business Today Banking & Economy Summit honours top banks at Gujarat’s GIFT City

Business Today Banking & Economy Summit and BT Best Banks Awards sees the biggest names of the financial services space gather at Gujarat’s GIFT City

The annual event saw a stellar line-up from the financial services space and policymakers come together to discuss the future road map for the industry and celebrate those institutions that successfully navigated the unpredictable landscape of FY23

The Business Today Banking & Economy Summit and BT Best Banks Awards, held at GIFT City in Gandhinagar on March 22, celebrated India’s financial prowess. This year’s theme was “Indian Banking: Bigger. Bolder. Boundless,” and the event attracted a formidable assembly of industry titans, policymakers, and innovators, who discussed key trends and issues shaping the banking and financial sector.

At the event, the BT Best Banks Awards recognised and celebrated the leaders of the financial world, showcasing their resilience, innovation, and unwavering commitment to excellence. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, were present at the event and unveiled a Special Issue of Business Today on India’s Best Banks.

This year, the Bank of the Year saw joint winners, with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank clinching the title. Veteran banker Uday Kotak, Founder & Non-Executive Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The list of winners in other categories included names such as HDFC Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, J P Morgan, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra Finance and Razorpay, among others.

At the summit, Union Minister Gadkari highlighted the unprecedented opportunity presented by infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) bonds. He emphasised their potential to empower ordinary citizens to partake in the nation’s rapid infrastructure development while reaping substantial returns on their investments. “I don’t say this openly, but I have decided that I [will] now make roads with money collected from poor countrymen,” he said, adding that he often encouraged peons, police constables or labourers to invest in InvIT bonds. “I assure you of 8.05% annual interest.”

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel credited the banking turnaround to PM Modi’s policies, while Dr Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission of India, batted for the privatisation of public sector banks once the General Elections are over. Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO of NSE, said that the regulatory framework of GIFT City, especially those related to the speed of execution, must be benchmarked to similar special zones in Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore or London, while Kalyanaraman Rajaraman, Chairperson of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), said a green finance ecosystem has been put in place at Gift City. Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat said that GIFT City, with proper reforms, can become a financial nerve centre just like Hong Kong, Dubai, or Singapore.

To decide on the winners of the awards, the 28th edition of the BT-KPMG Best Banks and NBFCs Survey identified those institutions that weathered all storms in 2022-23, innovated both in products and services, nurtured talent, and leveraged the strengths of fintech or technology partners to prepare for the future. The survey employed a comprehensive blend of quantitative and qualitative metrics to assess the performance of banks, fintech companies, and large NBFCs, that were included from this edition.

While six of awards are quantitative ones based on a rigorous evaluation of 35-plus business parameters of banks and NBFCs for FY23, the other 10 categories were decided by a high-profile jury headed by Anand Kumar Sinha, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The other members of the jury were Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, NSE; Ranu Vohra, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, Avendus; Pallav Mohapatra, MD & CEO, Arcil; N.S. Kannan, former ED, ICICI Bank; and Rajiv Kaul, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, CMS Info Systems. A total of 17 winners were picked.

Here’s the complete list of winners in the BT-KPMG Best Banks & NBFCs Survey 2022-23:

Jury Awards

Bank of the Year: HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank (Joint Winners)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Uday Kotak, Founder & Non-executive Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Best Bank in Innovation: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Best Bank in Talent and Workforce: Kotak Mahindra Bank

Best Bank in Fintech Initiative: Federal Bank

Best NBFC in Innovation: Tata Capital

Best NBFC in Talent and Workforce: Mahindra Finance

Best Fintech in Payments: Razorpay

Best Fintech in Value Added Services: Perfios Software Solutions

Best Fintech in Lending: Lendingkart