Religare Enterprises (REL) on Wednesday said it had inducted two global financial sector experts on its board as independent directors, a move which seems attuned to its ambition to venture into the banking business. The financial services firm inducted Stuart Pearce and Kathryn Matthews to its board on Tuesday, shortly after its promoters — Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh — decided to step down from the board of REL.
Though REL declined to comment on its aspiration of becoming a bank, the hand-over of the management reins by the Singh brothers to professionals and appointment of independent directors are being seen as steps towards meeting the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) norms.
The RBI’s new bank licencing norms are likely to benefit pure non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and global financial services firms like Goldman Sachs, but would restrict industrial groups wanting to convert their NBFCs to banks, as they have exposure to economic cycles.
