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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is hopeful of issuing small and payment banks licences by the end of 2015, central bank Deputy Governor S S Mundra told reporters in Mumbai. It can be noted that in early February as many as 74 companies/entities/individuals had applied for licences to set up small banks and payments banks.
The move to allow such differentiated banks came after the RBI had found just two entities - the infra player IDFC and the micro-lender Bandhan from among over two dozen applicants-eligible for setting up commercial banks.
The RBI issued this limited set of licences in April 1, 2014, after a decade. Both the applicants are yet to begin their operations even after a year as they have time till October. During that time, Governor Rajan had said that others could apply for small and payments banks and that going forward bank licences will be issued on-tap.
