The SEAC which will have a tenure of three years, and will screen applications for universal and small finance banks after the regulator first vets the proposal.
“The applications for Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks will be initially screened by the Reserve Bank to ensure prima facie eligibility of the applicants,” the regulator said. It was also stated that a Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC) comprising eminent persons with experience in banking, financial sector and other relevant areas, will evaluate the applications thereafter and that the constitution of the SEAC will be announced by Reserve Bank. The tenure of this SEAC will be for three years.”
The SEAC will also include four other members, Revathy Iyer, Director on the RBI central board, B Mahapatra, former executive director, RBI and presently chairman of NPCI, TN Manoharan, former chairman of Canara Bank and Hemant Contractor, former MD of
.
The regulator had released the guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of universal banks in the private sector in August 2016 and on tap licensing norms for small finance banks in December 2019. Both these guidelines had indicated that the regulator would set up a SEAC to screen applications for setting up banks.
