Mumbai, Sept. 10 -- Increased inflows through Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank, or FCNR(B), deposits could give banks more liquidity to lend and support consumer demand during the festive season, former Standard Chartered Bank MD Sanjeev Mehta said on Thursday.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) in Mumbai, Mehta said banks receiving additional deposits would look to deploy the money as keeping such funds idle carries a cost.

"As you know, what does a bank do? On one side, it takes liabilities and, on the other side, it gives loans. The liability here is the deposit. Money came to banks through FCNR(B). Once liquidity comes into the banking system, banks have to deploy that money somewhere," Mehta said. ...