Boost MSME lending, integrate power, telco data in credit bureaus: SBI MD

Bankers are finding it challenging to do MSME lending only with GST data, a top official from SBI said on Tuesday, pitching for the use of alternate sources such as power consumption, telecom and other digital records to assess the creditworthiness of an entity.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director at State Bank of India, said that while GST and banking data can help lenders assess a significant portion of the MSME sector, a large number of businesses remain outside the formal data ecosystem.