Former RBI deputy governor H R Khan to head micro-finance panel

Former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), H R Khan has been appointed as the first chairman of the steering committee of the Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in micro-credit.

The CRL is a self-regulatory step for the micro-credit industry making diverse entities like banks, NBFC-MFIs and NBFCs adhere to standards of customer protection, a statement by Micro-finance Institutions Network (MFIN) said.

CRL was launched in September by MFIN and Sa-Dhan, an RBI-recognised association of MFIs, along with Finance Industry Development Council, an association of NBFCs.

"I am excited to be part of this initiative of MFIN and Sa-Dhan. I strongly believe in the importance of promoting responsible finance to protect the interests of underserved and unserved borrowers," Khan said.

The CRL was envisaged to be guided and supervised by a steering committee representing banks, SFBs, NBFC-MFIs, NBFCs and industry associations under an eminent independent chair.

Members of the steering committee include Harsh Shrivastava of MFIN, P Satish of Sa-Dhan, Srinivas Bonam of IndusInd Bank and Sonia Krishnankutty of L&T Finance among others, the statement added.