Budget 2019 Expectations: Top 5 demands of banking, financial services and insurance sector

As Budget 2019 day is fast approaching, captains of industry are becoming more vocal about their demands from the Modi 2.0 Government. They are leaving no stone unturned as and when they get an opportunity to post their demands. The BFSIs (banking, financial services and insurance) sector is no exception to it. 

Speaking about the top five demands Dr. Arun Singh, Chief  Economist at Dun and Bradstreet said that given the moderating investment demand and stress in the NBFC sector, the following announcements for the BFSI sector are expected in the upcoming Union Budget 2019:

1] As the credit supply of PSBs is affected due to provisioning for Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), the government is likely to propose recapitalization of Public Sector Banks (PSBs);

2] The budget may outline a plan for selling stakes in some PSBs and/or further consolidation in the PSB segment;

3] The government might propose a framework for resolving bad debts in the NBFC sector on the lines of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC);

4] Long-Term Capital Gain (LTCG), Security Transaction Tax (STT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) result in triple taxation of corporate earnings, leading companies to favour debt capital over equity. Given the high NPA levels, the government is likely to announce measures to rationalise these taxes; and

5] The government could propose plans for centralisation of compliance processes to lower compliance costs.