“Senior officials are always looking for good juniors, so when the opportunity comes, they give you the responsibilities.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Frankly, I have a lot of interests, and I am not all that wedded only to banking.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“When borrowers anticipate that politicians might cancel their loans, they stop paying.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“We have been partners in nation-building and take our role in building the nation very proudly.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Most of the time, women believe that what lies ahead is a precipice. Whereas, if you continue to drive and stay on the path, the road will open up in front of you, and you will reach your destination. You don’t need to turn around and abandon the journey.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you look at it ideologically, I would say Brexit is not something that probably is good for the world.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Your ability will get you the job, but you also need to have age on your side. So if you started your career at 21, you have an advantage over others in your batch who started at, say, 24.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If we want to be the banker to every Indian as we want to be, then we will have to use technology.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Theoretically, every probationary officer has a chance to become chairman.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned the narrative around on demonetisation very quickly by promoting the move as one way of ending systemic corruption in the country.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“ATM is still a cash channel; we want to migrate it to the digital channel.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Every industry, as it comes to a certain level of maturity, there is consolidation. In that consolidation, some fall, but the men will always be there. It is the boys that get sloughed, I would say.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Lending rate is a function of both liquidity as well as credit demand.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“It was my first day at work – and beginning my training on the job, I was given the job of writing cheques and entering their details. The branch was surrounded by hordes of people… soon, they had to close the gates to manage the crowds, and they started pushing in.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Even for the people in the bank into which the other banks are merging, they also have a lot of apprehension. There is always an apprehension that opportunities will go down. There are apprehensions of displacement. Many of these apprehensions are unfounded.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“When interest rates are coming down, you cannot have high margins.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Once you have set the goal, give your staff the space to get there. If you micromanage, you will be able to do very little.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“One of the big lessons I have learnt from my life is that things are never as difficult as they seem. When you actively plunge into it, you realize you can easily do it.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you are approachable, if you keep your line of communication open, then very often, you get to hear what you need to hear.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“In order to ensure long-term investment, it is important to make infrastructure as transparent and as bankable as possible – should be a win-win for all.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you go to any boardroom… the women are, by far, outnumbered by the men.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I do believe in teamwork, and I think it’s very important, especially for a woman, because if you don’t have a good team, then you cannot step out if you need to.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“We keep saying, ‘No more ‘band aid’ solutions.’”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Multiple mergers can be challenging because people come from different backgrounds.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“India does not have a problem of people grabbing share from a fixed pie. India is one of the few nations where the pie is getting bigger.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“The decision to incentivise savings for pension funds augurs well for infrastructure financing and retirement planning.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“The move towards a unified agricultural market helps farmers get correct remuneration for their produce.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Banning cash transactions over R3 lakh will allow banks to diversify their banking activities into new areas and not mundane ones.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“The capping of cash transactions will help the banks reduce cash intensity.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“It is important to create credit absorption capacity rather than to just enhance lending targets.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“The higher interest and higher inflation is a vicious cycle.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I have never worried if my daughter has fallen sick, and I am somewhere else, because there is always somebody to take care of her.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I believe that we will benefit more by globalisation.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Brexit is actually a step back in the sense that you are going back from being connected to being on your own.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Private sector has no issue in coming into infrastructure sector. They know very well that infrastructure is one area that can give you very steady long-term returns.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I can’t tell you precisely how much participation there will be from India in the One Belt, One Road, but what is clear is the understanding that it is important for us to develop neighbourhood trade.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“There is potential for more Chinese investment in India’s infrastructure, and there are already Chinese investors in India’s power and telecoms sector as well as the banking and payments space.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“It is too expensive to have a bricks and mortar presence everywhere.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“At SBI, we say that if you need a project to be done, you need to be determined that it needs to be done, put a deadline, and it will get done.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I say what is required to be said.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Whatever I have said is in the interest of the system, and it has never been taken amiss.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“It’s good to be on the power list, but I don’t see a practical use of it except when people introduce me to audiences.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I always focus on team building – both in office and at home.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“At State Bank, all decisions are collective decisions. I have created the comfort zone.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“We underestimate our people. Given a challenge, most of our people will do it, especially the youngsters who take to technology like duck to water.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I am not going to opt for a short-term view for a 206-year-old institution like the SBI.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“We are present in all areas, and our products are the best.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I am happy to be running a public sector bank. In times of stress, most people will always have an account with us, so, to the extent that it gives stability and faith for the people and because banking is a business of trust, it is a major advantage we have.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“To tell you the truth, if you’re looking at rising pretty high, then you need to find a way of taking care of these problems and not taking time off. At the end of the day, it is a very tough competition. And in a very tough competition, if you just take breaks, then it’s going to become much, much more difficult.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“When it comes down to business, everybody is very businesslike… I have never felt any difficulty in dealing with any of these situations.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Until you get your reputation made, you have to work twice as hard… there is always a doubt in your superior’s mind as to whether you will put family before your job.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Demonetisation is a disinflationary process. So, this will bring down prices in the long run. It will also help in bringing down interest rates.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Waiving debts corrupts the credit culture.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Because SBI is so large, serving customers in India’s big cities and small rural villages alike, it has a pressing need for better tools and technology to monitor lending risks.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Cash imposes a huge burden. We don’t understand it, as it is not immediately visible. It is a huge burden on society.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Why should a country have to take on itself a huge burden of managing a totally cash economy?”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“People are used to cash, and getting them out of that is going to be a long and tough exercise.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“You have to go to war with a sword and a shield. You cannot go to war with bare hands.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“One of my main agenda right from the beginning has been cost rationalization, and we have done a lot of cost rationalization.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“You cannot take bank interest rates very sharply down: you will lose your deposit franchise.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“A maturing process, and growth, is always painful. You ask any teenager, they will tell you, and it’s just like that for the country. We need to grow; we need to evolve.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you start from the farm sector, we need much better investments and capital creation on land. We need logistics support; we need cold chain and processing capability. We need proper pricing at various stages to ensure that the producers are not left out in the value-chain.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you are satisfied, you will never see any more progress. One remains dissatisfied, but that doesn’t mean that things are not happening.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“You can’t merge six banks and think that nothing will happen.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Some amount of support from government and regulator is required when you are looking at resolving systemic issues.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Digital is the only way to get rid of corruption and unaccounted cash.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Those who claim that they need cash because they are unable to pay labourers are those who are not paying minimum wages.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“What needs to be done is that the digital initiatives that we had started, that those get the same kind of focus, and that we now disincentivize the use of cash. If you’re going to slide back into the ways that we had before this demonetization impact, then you really won’t get the benefits.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“As demand goes down, you will see prices come down.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you want to deemphasise cash, then people should not only have an incentive for going digital but also a disincentive for doing cash.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Cash is not cheap. The physical infrastructure is not easy to maintain and cheap.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Our huge infrastructure that we need for keeping cash is very expensive.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“In any merger, the biggest challenge is always integration of human resources because the people who are coming in have a lot of apprehension.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“It is only after you are able to stand on your own feet, or have the confidence that you can stand on your own feet, should you look at doing things such as marriage or setting up a family.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I have met a lot of women who are good at math.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Children should be taught in school that you should have all kinds of asset classes in your portfolio. They should be taught what those asset classes are, and their advantages and disadvantages.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If a woman is financially independent, she can definitely make a bigger contribution in making big decisions and contribute much more. If a woman is financially independent, she can pursue her interests, too.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“PSU banks are sole lenders to capital-intensive firms.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you look at the international markets, for projects that are capital-intensive, the minute the construction phase is completed and production is supposed to start, normally all these loans get refinanced.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Things have their own pace, and if we work with that pace and anticipate the issues correctly, we can have good results.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“India has a very young population which is comfortable doing business on a screen than do it one on one with a banking executive. They want quick fulfilment of desires, and may not have the time to go to a bank to get things done. Many of them are comfortable working from home.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“I believe in discussing very thoroughly what should be the goal. When discussing it, I allow others to give their views.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Often, people wonder if she can give the time required at work, given also her responsibilities at home. So a woman has to prove her worth over and over again each time she’s given a new responsibility, especially when she is at junior to mid-level positions.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“After some time, my reputation preceded me each time I was given a new posting.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“My friends have helped my daughter in certain areas more than I have. What these have taught me is that you need to be good to people. There will always be times when you need their help.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Had it not been for the groundswell of support by the people of India, we would not have seen such a huge exercise of demonetisation bounce off without a single riot or a single law and order issue.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Women being women, they are very sincere, committed, and honest in what they do. If they feel they are shortchanging some segment of their responsibility, they have a tendency of holding themselves back. What I would like to tell them is that it is not necessarily true that you will short-change one or the other.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Some people look at my photos and think maybe I’m feeling frazzled, but I really want to tell them I’m just having a bad hair day!”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you snap off people’s heads and get on to a kind of a pedestal, it’s more difficult for people to approach you. It’s much easier if you are down there with them. They will talk to you.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“At the end of the day, none of us are the Oracle of Delphi, so we don’t get everything right. It’s always good to be able to listen and to take on what seems to be the right thing to do.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“One thing I would tell women is that they must take up the challenge. Very often, we anticipate a lot of problems, and therefore, we don’t take the lead. And I think that we are shortchanging ourselves if we don’t do that.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“When there are good postings available, the people who choose who is to come to that particular position, they will always have, at the back of their minds, a fear that, ‘If I take a woman, she might prioritize her family over the job and, therefore, not be available at times when her presence is required.’”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you are really challenged, and if you are willing to take the plunge, very often some of the path opens up in front of you.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“In India, women are still the primary caregivers. Whether it be for children, whether it be for old people or sick people, you are the primary caregiver. No matter what position you are in.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Disinvestments will continue to happen. If the issue is priced correctly, there’s no reason why it should not sell.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“In India, the investment banking industry is a little different. Overseas, the structures are very complicated, but not in India.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“Competition is always there.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“SBI Caps has a distinct advantage because most of our people are market recruits. We have a public sector heritage. Our challenge is to bring the best of both – public sector heritage and private sector talent – and provide a unique offering.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
“If you have six corporate centres, six treasuries, six of everything, and then if you bring it down to one of everything, obviously there are some savings.”
― Arundhati Bhattacharya
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