Kiran Thakur applies for small finance bank licence from the RBI
From the Business standard
Editor of Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, Kiran D Thakur, 62, has applied for small finance bank licence from the RBI.
Thakur started his career as a sports reporter in 1968 and took over as its editor in 1979. He transformed the Marathi daily from a single location publication to multi-city editions. He also launched ‘Newslink’, an English daily in 1987.
But Thakur’s love for banking started after he set up Lokmanya Multi-purpose Co-op Society, which is said to be India’s first multi-state, multi-purpose cooperative financial institution. The society has 169 branches and a deposit base in excess of Rs 1,800 crore.
RBI Guidelines for small finance bank licence:
The small finance bank will be required to use the words “Small Finance Bank” in its name in order to differentiate it from other banks. The minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks shall be Rs. 100 crore.
The small finance bank shall be registered as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013. It will be licensed under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and governed by the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949; and other acts.
The objectives of setting up of small finance banks will be for furthering financial inclusion by (i) provision of savings vehicles primarily to unserved and underserved sections of the population, and (ii) supply of credit to small business units; small and marginal farmers; micro and small industries; and other unorganised sector entities, through high technology-low cost operations.The promoter’s minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such small finance bank shall at least be 40 per cent.