Discouraging retail play in F&O may help banks attract more deposits: Khara

Regulatory moves discouraging retail investors' derivative market bets may help the banking system garner the much-needed deposits, SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara has said.

Khara said the budget announcements like the tweaks on the short-term and long-term capital gains will not lead to much gains from a deposit accretion perspective.

"F&O (future and options) kind of things are being discouraged for the retail (investor) by the regulator. Those who are resorting to such kind of an instrument, they might come back to the banking system," Khara told PTI over the weekend.

It can be noted that concerns over losses incurred by 90 per cent of investors in the derivative trades have led to fears of household savings being blown in speculation rather than being deployed for productive purposes among policymakers.

As per capital markets regulator Sebi, retail investors lost Rs 52,000 crore in such activity in FY24 alone which necessitates a clampdown.

Sebi has come up with a seven-point