India Banking and Finance Report 2025

Partha Ray (Ed.), Arindam Bandyopadhyay (Ed.), Sanjay Basu (Ed.)

About the Book

The India Banking and Finance Report (IBFR) 2025 is a compendium of articles of contemporary relevance on the banking and financial sector in India and abroad. The report covers a broad range of topics, across thirteen chapters: from the latest macro financial developments to compliance risk, green transition strategies to digitalisation of agriculture and emerging risks for NBFCs to the influence of women’s leadership in banks.

 The deliberation in each chapter offers a blend of academic and practitioner perspectives. The report presents the challenges and opportunities in the globalised and turbulent domain of banking and finance, with suggestions for appropriate reforms and regulations, and key lessons for the future.

The India Banking and Finance Report 2025 continues the tradition of serving as a definitive source of information and discussion on the financial sector for practitioners, regulators, policymakers and academicians. Like the previous editions, it serves as a useful compendium offering an academic perspective on a wide canvas of topics ranging from macrofinancial conditions under an easy money regime to strategic issues in banks. The discussions on the municipal bond markets, insurance markets, the emerging risks in the NBFC sector, climate risk management, risk-based supervision and impact of digitalisation on agriculture, reflect the evolving paradigms confronting the sector. The discussions on effect of Artificial Intelligence on human resource management and the role of women in leadership and the shift to customer-centric strategy set a tone for the behavioural dimensions of financial services.

The combination of academic rigour and lucid style will make for an engaging and insightful read... M. Rajeshwar Rao, Former Deputy Governor, RBI.

The latest edition of India Banking and Finance Report (IBFR) 2025 published by National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) gives prominence to well researched articles. In today’s world, insights from authentic data and interpretation based on experience are important for informed decision making. This edition captures the developments in four main pillars that are relevant to banks... Capturing the core findings and presenting it in a simple manner make the book quite interesting to read. The book resonates with my experience in the field of banking and I am sure everyone will find the articles engaging and useful. I congratulate the NIBM team for taking this effort to release yet another edition of this valuable publication.

A.K. Goel, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association and former MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank. IBFR 2025 provides a timely and insightful contribution to the evolving discourse on India’s financial sector... The report’s thematic organisation reflects a well-curated blend of policy relevance and academic rigour. Each chapter demonstrates the authors’ deep engagement with real-world challenges while offering evidence-based analyses and forward-looking perspectives. My compliments to the contributors and editorial team for maintaining such high standards of scholarship and relevance year after year.
Umakant Dash, Vice Chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and
Economics, Pune.
The 2025 IBFR is being released at a time when the banking and financial sector (as a fundamental pillar of economic activity) is at the cusp of transformational changes—technology, regulation, the nature of money, funding and resources, customer interaction, human resources—on a scale and in such an interconnected fashion as perhaps never before. Everything, everywhere, all at once. The IBFR 2025 is a notable addition to the compendium of analysis emanating from leading global institutions. The topics of the chapters are curated with great deliberation to address many of these ongoing disruptions, combining lucidity, analytical rigour, and topical relevance. A worthy addition to the lineage of IBFRs.

Saugata Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; Member, Monetary Policy Committee, Reserve Bank of India.
The fourth edition of this prestigious annual publication has put together a rich collection of thirteen deeply researched articles on a wide range of themes. Written by some of the best minds in their respective areas, these articles provide fresh insights into diverse issues pertaining to macroeconomy, markets, risk management, technology in banking, digital disruption and marketing in the financial sector. The perspectives offered in these articles are backed by data and research-based findings.
The India Banking and Finance Report (IBFR) 2025 will be a reference point for all those who wish to study the various aspects of India’s rapidly evolving financial sector. Produced with care and enriched with useful graphics, the 2025 edition of IBFR is a must-read.

Ashok K. Bhattacharya, Editorial Director at Business Standard.
The India Banking and Finance Report 2025 is an indispensable resource for any practitioner navigating the complexities of India’s rapidly evolving financial landscape... George Goodman, writing as Adam Smith in The Money Game, said that the market is “an exercise in mass psychology.” Fundamentals matter, but belief moves markets. What changes the world is not earnings per share, but imagination or fear about the future. And imagination, when stretched too far, snaps. NIBM’s dedication helps professionals move beyond static models or point in time observations…
Tyler Wood, CEO & Executive Director, CMT Association, New York.