Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be the chief guest at the FE Best Banks Awards to be held in Mumbai on Friday. She will preside over the function to be attended by stalwarts from the corporate and financial sectors.
With the economy having bounced back after a couple of difficult years, the mood in India Inc is upbeat. The FM’s views on the next course of action would be keenly awaited. Sitharaman rolled out quite a few measures during Covid to jump-start the economy and these didn’t just help smaller units survive the disruption but also ensured that stress in the financial system is contained. Indeed, the financial sector appears to have weathered the storm; most balance sheets are well-capitalised and lenders are now looking forward to a revival in the demand for credit.
The FE Best Banks Awards will honour standout performances across banks, NBFCs, SFBs and fintechs under challenging circumstances. The awards will also celebrate the success of individuals who have showed that they are a cut above the rest and can take on any challenge. Keki Mistry, vice-chairman & CEO, HDFC, has won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to mortgage finance. While Padmaja Chunduru, former MD & CEO, Indian Bank, has won the Banker of the Year award for 2019-20, the winner for 2020-21 is Sandeep Bakhshi, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank. Both exhibited exemplary leadership skills in difficult situations.
All winners have been picked by an independent jury, chaired by S Ramadorai, former vice-chairman, TCS, and comprising R Shankar Raman, director, L&T; Amit Chandra, chairman, Bain Capital; Biswamohan Mahapatra, former ED, RBI and chairman, NPCI; Sharad Sharma, founder, iSPIRT; and Amit Tandon, MD, IiAS. FE
