New Delhi, May 4 -- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J on Monday highlighted that banking must be understood beyond numbers, models and regulations, emphasising the role of judgment, experience and public purpose in financial decision-making.

Delivering the G Ramachandran Memorial Lecture at Madras School of Economics, he said, "Banking cannot be understood only through numbers, models or regulations, though all three are important. It must also be understood through experience, institutional behaviour and the public purpose that finance is meant to serve."

Drawing from his banking career, he highlighted that credit decisions are inherently uncertain and require informed judgment. "Credit is a judgment about the f...