Parliament approved the amendment bill in banking law

New Delhi| The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. After the amendment in the law, bank account holders will be allowed to have a maximum of four nominees. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that its objective is to ensure accountability of banks. This bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in December last year.

Responding to the three-hour long discussion, the Finance Minister said, the aim of this bill is to ensure accountability, improve administration in banks, allow depositors to have a maximum of four nominees for their accounts, limit the number of bank directors and reporting. The rules have to be changed. Now account holders can make four people their nominees. There will be convenience in distribution of funds after the death of the account holder, which still remains a problem.

Sitharaman also responded to raising the issue of loan waiver. The write off does not mean that the loan has been waived off, but banks will continue efforts to recover the money, he said. Cooperative sector banks have made the highest ever profit of about Rs 1.41 crore in the last financial year.

The Finance Minister said, the banking system in the country has made many achievements. Continuous action is being taken against those who deliberately do not repay the loan. The NPA of commercial and co-operative banks has decreased by 2.5 per cent. Now the government is not going to remain silent.

Huge reduction in NPA
The Finance Minister said, due to the efforts of the government, there has been a huge reduction in NPA. The government is committed to taking strict action against those who deliberately default on loans. In the last 5 years the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken over about 112 cases related to bank fraud. There are also cases related to those who deliberately do not repay the loan.