The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has named members of the Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC) for evaluating applications for universal and small finance banks.
Shyamala Gopinath, former Deputy Governor, RBI, has been appointed as the chairperson of the SEAC.
The members include Revathy Iyer, director, Central Board, RBI, B. Mahapatra, former executive director, RBI and currently Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI); T.N. Manoharan, former chairman, Canara Bank and Hemant G. Contractor, former MD, SBIState Bank of India and former Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
The secretarial support to the committee will be provided by the Department of Regulation, RBI.
The RBI had announced guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of universal banks in the private sector on August 1, 2016 and for ‘on tap’ licensing of small finance banks in the private sector on December 5, 2019 and had stated that the applications for universal and small finance banks would be initially screened by it to ensure prima facie eligibility of the applicants.
It had also stated that a SEAC comprising eminent persons with experience in banking, financial sector and other relevant areas, would evaluate the applications thereafter. The tenure of this SEAC will be for three years, the RBI said in a statement.
