 "Muthoot Finance")
The application was submitted before the banking sector regulator the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in accordance with the guidelines issued by it for licensing of new banks in the private sector in February.
“We want to get the leverage of our strong presence in rural India where we are offering gold loan services. Also, we are currently a single product company which we want to diversify into other sectors with full fledged banking services,” said K P Padma Kumar, Executive Director of Muthoot Finance.
Muthoot Finance has also recently received in-principle approval from RBI to set up White Label ATMs. The company has already chalked out of setting up 1,000 such ATMs in the first year and another 8,000 in the next two years.
“With our last mile connect in to the rural hinterland, a banking licence will enable us to play a larger role of financial inclusion by taking these services to the unbanked and underserved population of the country,” said George Alexander Muthoot, managing director of the company.
Muthoot Finance has a branch network of 4,200 spread across 21 states and 4 union territories. Around 60% of this branch network is spread across tier II, tier III and tier IV cities.
“Many of our branches in the in the tier II, III and IV cities can be immediately converted in to a full-fledged bank. Our reach of 4,200 branches, large existing customer base and the strong brand image makes us an eligible candidate for a Bank in the country,” he said.
