Eight institutions and individuals have applied for on-tap licences to set up universal banks and small finance banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday.
This comes weeks after RBI set up an advisory panel, led by former deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath, to evaluate applications for universal and small finance banks, which are mandated to focus on priority sector lending and small loans. The last time RBI handed out universal bank licences was in 2015 when it cleared IDFC Ltd and Bandhan Financial’s applications.
Our sources told us that UAE Exchange and Financial Services Ltd, Repatriates Cooperative Finance and Development Bank Ltd, Chaitanya India Fin Credit Pvt. Ltd, an entity owned by Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, and Pankaj Vaish and others have sought licences for banks.
VSoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Calicut City Service Co-operative Bank Ltd, Akhil Kumar Gupta and Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services Pvt. Ltd have shown interest in setting up small finance banks.