The Bengal Chamber organised the BCC&I Financial Summit 2017 on 12th and 13th January 2017 at The Park, Kolkata. This was the inaugural edition of our annual Summit, and the principal objective was to create a platform for all stakeholders in the financial markets to discuss, analyze, share best practices and bring forward the opportunities in the financial markets, especially to connect with the consumers of today. Our objective was to create the largest and most relevant forum in the East so that this Summit creates the effective platform for financial market-linked business development discussions and brings the Government together with private players, corporates and consultants.

Private sector bank's priority sector book increased to Rs 6.48 lakh crore up from Rs 5.30 lakh crore in the fiscal year ended March 2015 which meant that they had lent 44.8% from of their adjusted net bank credit to the priority sector. Also, the advancements in technology have brought the mobile and internet banking services to the fore. Banks will need an adaptable, “intrapreneurial” workforce, with the diversity of thought that promotes innovation. So far, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have scripted a great success story. Their contribution to the economy has grown in leaps and bounds from 8.4% in 2006 to above 14% in March 2015. The success of NBFCs can be clearly attributed to their better product lines, lower cost, wider and effective reach, strong risk management capabilities to check and control bad debts, and better understanding of their customer segments. The depressed private investment climate and global economic growth continues to impact the manufacturing sector growth in India. Investors may also seek allocation in the Accrual/Duration and Bond Short Term funds. Introduction of options would deepen and transform the Indian commodity derivatives markets both in terms of products and participants. Even as the growth rate has improved marginally in the last one year, consequently GPW growth is likely to go up further in FY2016. Most general insurance companies reported significant gains on their investment books owing mainly to the rally in the existing equity positions as well as on fresh positions. Technology, particularly digital innovation would play a major role in connecting with the consumer and would be instrumental in the sustainable growth of the industry. Health insurance is an important domain where penetration has not been enough particularly in tier II, tier III cities and rural India. IRDA (Health Insurance) Regulations 2013 lay greater emphasis on features of the product, standard declaration in the proposal form, greater transparency and disclosures in sales literature and disclosures on the web portals to disseminate suitable information for decision making, etc. However, there are many issues like fraudulent charges, higher hospital rates, high claim ratios and long turnaround time amongst others thus creating a bottleneck for the growth of the industry.

The focus of the Summit on Day I, 12th January was on the Banking sector, NBFCs and Capital Market. It was an honour to have the presence of Shri C S Ghosh, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank Ltd. as the Guest of Honour of the Summit. The Summit on Day I also witnessed the deliberations of eminent speakers like Mr. Asim Ranjan Parashar, Executive Director - Management Consulting, PwC; Mr. Tamal Bandopadhyay, Advisor, Bandhan Bank; Mr. Subrata Bagchi, Managing Director, Protiviti India Member Private Limited; Mr. N K Prasad, President & CEO, Computer Age Management Services Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Vibhor Tandon, AVP-BD, MCX India; Mr. Saibal Biswas, Independent Financial Planner and Columnist and Member, BCC&I Banking and Finance Committee.

The focus of the Summit on Day II, 13th January was on Insurance. It was an honour to have the presence of Shri K Sanath Kumar, Chairman & MD, National Insurance Co. Ltd. as the Guest of Honour of the Summit.

Summit on Day II also witnessed the deliberation of eminent speakers like Mr. Amol Maheshwari, Vice President & Business Head – Group Insurance & Employee Benefits, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd; Mr. Rushabh Gandhi, Director-Sales & Marketing, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd.; Mr. Raghav Malhotra, Manager-Management Consulting, KPMG Advisory Services; Mr. K Sanath Kumar, Chairman & MD, National Insurance Co. Ltd.; Mr. D V S Ramesh , DGM- Health, IRDA; Mr. Shreeraj Deshpande, Head, Health Insurance, Future Generali India Insurance Co Ltd.; Mr. Gopal Verma, Chairman, E Meditek Group of Companies; Mr. Parthanil Ghosh, HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Member, BCC&I Banking & Finance Committee