The Reserve Bank of India has today announced the names of the members of the Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC) for evaluating applications for Universal Banks as well as Small Finance Banks.
The tenure of the SEAC will be for three years. The composition of SEAC include M. K. Jain, former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Chairperson, Revathy Iyer, Director, Central Board, Reserve Bank of India, Parvathy V. Sundaram, former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, Hemant G. Contractor, former MD, State Bank of India and former Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Member, N. S. Kannan, former MD & CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
The secretarial support to the committee would be provided by the Department of Regulation, Reserve Bank of India.
As per licensing guidelines, applications for Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks will be initially screened by the Reserve Bank to ensure prima facie eligibility of the applicants.
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.