Sentiments racing ahead of Reality

All over the world, and more so in India, and even more so in Delhi, people are screaming  for change and expressing it through the ballots. But in the real world, change does not happen so far. Though the prices of several commodities have dipped, inflation is refusing to sink like lead. Corruption has perhaps paused, but it is far from disappeared. Growth is inching up, though people wanted a sprint. For the first time ever, politicians and political parties are being tossed around like
never before by the electorate.The expansion of media, tied together with elections,  has made  way for rapid sentiment  changes. Sentiment  changes are  coming like tsunami rather  than waves. But the ways of the real world are still designed for modest  changes. Whether it is starting mining operations or building a bridge or changing  duties and taxes….everything happens slowly in the real world.BFSI organizations are caught in the middle. On one hand, their customers want changes at the speed of lightening. If RBI makes  a rate cut, customers want it reflected in their EMIs the same day. And yet that is not practical in the real world, because banks’ rates  depend upon several  other factors. But sentiment  does not stand on the pillars of logic or reality.

Banks particularly need to have sentiment monitoring and management systems because sentiment  is one of the pillars of public trust in a particular bank and in the  banking  system  in general.  If customers start tossing  banks  like they have started  tossing political parties….everyone will face much higher levels of economic  volatility…which is obviously not desirable.
Lesson from the Delhi elections: Customer sentiments can change a David into a Goliath and vice versa within a very short time. It is a risk for the Goliaths and an opportunity for the Davids.