Banking the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has never been the most happening part of banking (no offense to those who work in these divisions).

No doubt that it is a sizeable part of the banking business. Loans to micro, small and medium enterprises make up about 20% of overall credit given out to industry. In fact, SME lending, if done well, can be a relatively higher margin business because lending to such enterprises tends to entail taking on higher risk and is sometimes unsecured. But it’s equally a tedious business—small loans to a large number of borrowers in a segment that is most exposed to economic swings and has limited buffers to withstand bad times.