All your savings, investments may soon appear in one statement
What's the story
India's banking and financial services customers could soon get a consolidated view of their savings and investments. The proposal is being discussed by financial regulators to provide investors with a comprehensive picture across asset classes. Currently, mutual fund and equity investors receive a Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) every month. This statement captures transactions across mutual fund schemes and securities held in demat form under one Permanent Account Number (PAN).
Expansion plans
NPS included in CAS framework
The National Pension System (NPS), regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), has already been included in the CAS framework. Now, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is discussing with other regulators such as RBI and IRDAI to further expand CAS disclosures. The goal is to include other savings and investment products like small savings schemes, bond holdings, and provident fund accounts into this consolidated statement system.
Future prospects
Unified financial ledger on the cards
A senior official familiar with the discussions told Business Standard that this framework could be extended to help individuals create a monthly personal finance balance sheet covering both assets and liabilities. This would be similar to how listed companies report their performance every quarter. The official also said data on outstanding loans from regulated entities could be integrated into this system at a later stage.
Regulatory collaboration
SEBI chairman confirms development
Confirming the development, SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Business Standard that they are working with other regulators to enable investors to access a consolidated financial ledger through a single statement. He added that even if this framework isn't made mandatory, individuals may get an option to voluntarily authorize sharing of data from other regulatory systems.
Implementation challenges
Technical feasibility and current limitations
The consolidation of financial data is technically possible if regulators agree to share relevant application programming interfaces (APIs) governing their regulated entities' databases. However, as Harsh Roongta, founder of Fee Only Investment Advisors LLP, pointed out, information related to insurance, EPFO, and bank accounts still lies outside the CAS framework. While the Account Aggregator system has partly addressed this gap and several entities already offer apps providing consolidated financial views.