City banker Vyas to help govt frame all-women bank

April 30, 2013

Jayshree Vyas has been appointed to panel set up to prepare blueprint of proposed women's bank

New challenge

Jayshree Vyas was with the Central Bank of India till she joined SEWA Bank as MD in 1982.

She says the all-women bank will increase inclusion of women in the financial market and thereby make them financially independent.

Managing director of SEWA Bank, Jayshree Vyas, has been appointed to the 6-member committee of bankers and other experts constituted by the Union finance ministry to prepare a blueprint for an all-women bank. The proposed bank, which is likely to start functioning from November this year, will be fully owned by the central government.

Jayshree Vyas sees the committee's task as a challenging one and is looking forward to working with other members on the panel. "I don't have the terms of reference but it is going to be an exciting and challenging task to prepare a blueprint for such a bank in a short time. We have to submit the report by April 30," Vyas told DNA.

She was earlier with the Central Bank of India, a public sector enterprise, but she left it to join SEWA Bank in 1982 as managing director. (SEWA Bank was founded in 1974.) Vyas has a background in commercial banking as well because at the Central Bank of India, she was handling the credit and advances portfolio.

Talking about the shape the bank for women could take, Vyas said that she expects the bank to serve the needs of poor women. Currently, self-help groups (SHGs) and micro-finance institutions are attending to the financial needs of women, she said. " My experience tells me that women have an instinct, a habit of saving. We need services to channel these savings. Till now, we have compulsory savings in SHGs. A public sector bank will promote voluntary savings," Vyas said.

She further said that SHGs had contributed to financial inclusion of the people. "There are millions of them run on democratic principles. I believe the finance minister also expects the proposed all-women bank to increase inclusion of women in the financial markets and also link it with SHGs for credit," Vyas said.

When asked whether the all-women bank will be able to serve the financial needs of women, Vyas said that as it will be a public sector bank, it will have to fulfil regulatory requirements laid down by the RBI.

"But the biggest challenge before it would be how to design specific products and services which will serve its goal of banking for women," Vyas said. "Apart from voluntary savings and credit, other areas like pension and financial security will also be looked at," she added.