The good and not so good of new bank ownership norms

Isn't it time to review the 'fit and proper' criteria for banking licence, particularly with reference to individuals applying for it?

On a cricket field, when a fielder drops a catch, the spectators groan. On a football ground, when a striker misses a penalty kick, the stadium reacts the same way.

But, in the last week of November, when the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) new guidelines on the ownership and corporate structure of private sector banks quietly dropped its internal working group’s recommendation to permit large corporate houses to promote banks, there was a collective sigh of relief.

To use cricket terminology, this recommendation was not a sitter. In fact, it was laced with many caveats. The working group had said large