Venue: Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai
Date: 26th October, 2026
Central Theme: Mapping India’s Financial Future and the Next Phase of Growth
SBI Chairman Mr. Setty was on stage early. Talking about interest rates.
Gave an interest on high rates hitting retail borrowers or discretionary spending? Basically people aren’t buying random stuff on EMI as much right now.
Mentioned loan growth might slow down a bit in Q2, but infra projects are still taking money.
1. AI & Tech in Banking (SBI Panel / MR. Amara)
SBI MD Rama Mohan Rao Amara was speaking.
Big talk on AI adoption across banks, but kept stressing “need of R&D” (banks aren’t spending enough on pure tech research).
Mentioned GenAI is now being actively used for check clearing / fraud checks.
2. PNB / Macro Session (Mr. Chandra – MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank)
Ashok Chandra from PNB was on stage.
PNB expects 7.1% GDP growth for FY26–27.
Talked about the RBI opening the FCNR(B) deposit window to pull in foreign fund investment.
3. Uday Kotak Session (Valuations, Capital Gains & Liquidity)
Compared to US interest rates vs Indian interest rates. Said the US is still the most liquid financial services market in the world, so capital always flows back there easily.
The Valuation Warning: Said India’s P/E ratio is currently the 2nd highest in the world, right after the US.
Summary
Tech: Banks are testing GenAI on check clearing, but SBI MD says the tech R&D budget is still inadequate.
Economy: PNB sees solid 7.1% GDP growth; RBI’s FCNR window is defending the Rupee, with GIFT City being pitched as the hub for foreign flows.
Markets (Kotak’s warning): India’s stock market is expensive (P/E is 2nd highest globally; double that of China), and with 12.5% cap gains + high US yields, foreign money is exiting to chase US AI stocks while Indian retail absorbs the sell-off.
