CSR PRACTICES IN BANKING SECTOR

COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT The financial sector has acquired strength, efficiency and stability by the combined effect of competition, regulatory measures, and policy environment recognized as the key drivers of the banking sector. There has been improvement in banks’ capital position and asset quality as reflected in the overall increase in their capital adequacy ratio and declining Non Performing Loans respectively. The Indian banking sector has witnessed wide ranging changes under the influence of the financial sector reforms initiated during the early 1990s. The approach to such reforms in India has been one of gradual and non-disruptive progress through a consultative process. The emphasis has been on deregulation and opening up the banking sector to market forces. The Reserve Bank has been consistently working towards the establishment of a Regulatory framework with prompt and effective supervision as well as the development of technological and institutional infrastructure. The objective of present study is to find out the current CSR activities adopted by Indian banking sector and further to develop a framework that can ensure effective utilization of CSR funds for financial inclusion initiatives in India. The outcomes of study suggest that banking organizations like HDFC and ICICI have already started to use CSR funds for dealing financial Inclusion problem. These organizations have strategic and focused vision for their CSR initiatives and their CSR initiatives are integrated with their business expertise, core competencies and core business objectives. While other banking organizations like State bank of India, Punjab national bank and Bank of Baroda are still not clear with their CSR vision. Key Words: CSR, Financial Inclusion, Commercial banks, Public sector banks.

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