RBI Appoints New Committee To Evaluate Bank Licenses For Universal And Small Finance Banks

The Reserve Bank of India has announced the names of a five-member standing external advisory committee, which will evaluate license applications for universal and small finance banks, the central bank said in a press release.

The tenure of the committee, which will be for three years, will be chaired by former RBI Deputy Governor M K Jain.

Other members include RBI's Director, Central Board Revathy Iyer; former RBI Executive Director Parvathy V Sundaram; former State Bank of India Managing Director Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Hemant G Contractor; and former MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd, NS Kannan.

While the committee will have the secretarial support of the RBI's department of regulation, applications for universal and small finance banks will be initially screened by the RBI to ensure prima facie eligibility, and the committee will evaluate the applications thereafter, the release said.

This is the second such committee by the RBI on banking licenses. The first committee was announced in March 2021, chaired by former RBI Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath.