The Reserve Bank of India last week published a list of applicants for the coveted universal banking licence. The line-up is, shall we say, somewhat less than stellar, hinting at a poor response to RBI’s “on-tap licensing” process for full-fledged banks, announced with great fanfare back in August 2016.
The star of the show is Chaitanya India Fin Credit, which effectively represents a bid by Flipkart co-founder and billionaire Sachin Bansal. Bansal’s Navi, a venture aimed at building a digital-first bank and financial services business, controls Chaitanya, a 12-year-old Bengaluru-based microfinance institution.
The other applicants:
- UAE …
Pranav is a co-founder at The Morning Context and used to lead the edit team here. He has previously worked as a writer and editor at The Ken and Mint, where he worked on business news from tech to banking to deals. At The Morning Context, he helps manage editorial operations, edits and commissions long-form stories, and writes at the intersections of technology, business and finance.
Head of Desk
pranav@mailtmc.com
Bengaluru