Hope to announce at least one set of bank licences before August-end: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan

MUMBAI: Those who have applied for bank licence can look forward to hearing from the regulator by August-end. “I hope to announce at least one set of bank licences before the end of the month,” the RBI Governor said on Tuesday. The RBI has received 72 applications for small finance banks, which will help meet credit and remittances needs of small businesses, and 41 applications for payment banks, which will essentially provide small savings accounts.

It has already received recommendations from the external advisory committees. Nachiket Mor chaired the panel on payment banks, while Usha Thorat chaired the one on small finance banks. An internal committee of the RBI, composed of its deputy governors and the governor, is going through each of these applications again. “Finally, a set of recommendations will be presented to the RBI board, which will decide the final list of successful applicants,” Rajan said.