There are planned advertising and promotion activities in the banking sector, aimed at garnering funds and mopping up liquidity in the markets. The advertising and promotions would start off after the holiday seasons are over, when consumer spending is expected to die down and people would be more concerned about the safety of their savings, when employment is not something that could be taken for granted yet. However, the way things stand, all the savings schemes that would be promoted by the banks may not offer much to cheer consumers.

In the first place, it goes against logic as to why banks should try to get in savings accounts and fixed deposits from consumers when the global economy is not yet on a growth track, since the recession started prevailing all over the place. Governments all over the world are still discussing as to how they could get the economy growing and how they could handle the sagging consumer confidence. There are discussions about the effectiveness of the stimulus package that are already in the pipeline and if they should be extended into the next financial year.

In this situation, Central Banks around the world should make sure that the stimuli given to the economy reach the intended parties fully. In an uncertain environment, banks are naturally concerned about the safety of their credits and would think twice before they lend again. While Central Banks have kept interest rates low to make sure people take loans, invest and spend, the small and medium sectors are already facing difficulties in getting loan disbursements, as banks try to restrict their activities to the safe sectors.

So, the news that banks would go on an advertising overdrive to make people save is counter-intuitive – ideally, they should be discouraging savings, as they would already be sitting on a lot of cash which they would have to put to profitable use. The focus should be on lending more to the deserving and taking calculated risks when lending to small and medium businesses. If banks go about advertising, it would perhaps be good for the economy as the advertising industry would find it helpful. That apart, any initiative by the banks to get more savings would not be helpful for a faster economic recovery.