The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a five-member committee, headed by former Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath, for evaluating applications for Universal Banks as well as Small Finance Banks.
The other members of the Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC), whose tenure will be for three years, are: Revathy Iyer, Director, Central Board, Reserve Bank of India; B Mahapatra, former Executive Director, RBI and presently Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI); TN Manoharan, former Chairman, Canara Bank; and Hemant G Contractor, former MD, State Bank of India and former Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
The RBI’s guidelines for ‘on-tap’ Licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector (August 1, 2016) and Guidelines for ‘on-tap’ Licensing of Small Finance Banks in the Private Sector (December 5, 2019) indicated that the applications for Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks will be initially screened by the Reserve Bank to ensure prima facie eligibility of the applicants.
The guidelines also stated that a SEAC comprising eminent persons with experience in banking, financial sector and other relevant areas, will evaluate the applications thereafter and that the constitution of the SEAC will be announced by Reserve Bank.
The RBI, in a statement, said secretarial support to the committee would be provided by its Department of Regulation.