The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted 10 entities in-principle licences to open small finance banks.
The licence, which is another move towards expanding access to financial services in rural and semi-urban areas, would be valid for a period of 18 months.
The name of the entities include – Au Financiers, Capital Local Area Bank , Disha Microfin, Equitas Holdings, ESAF Microfinance and Investments, Janalakshmi Financial Services, RGVN (North East) Microfinance, Suryoday Micro Finance, Ujjivan Financial Services and Utkarsh Micro Finance.
“Small finance banks will offer basic banking services, accepting deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and entities in the unorganised sector,” RBI said in the guidelines released for such banks.
