Reserve Bank on Monday announced the constitution of an Expert Committee on Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks, headed by its former deputy governor NS Vishwanathan. The eight-member Expert Committee on UCBs will examine issues and provide a road map for strengthening the sector, leveraging on the recent amendments to Banking Regulation Act, RBI said in a notification on Monday.
RBI had first announced its intention to set up this committee as part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies along with the Monetary Policy Statement on February 5. The expert committee is expected to submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting.
Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, the former Chairman of NABARD, Mukund M Chitale- Chartered Accountant, retired IAS officers NC Muniyappa and RN Joshi, MS Sriram- Professor at IIM Bangalore, Jyotindra M. Mehta- President of NAFCUB (National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies), and Neeraj Nigam- Chief General Manager-in-Charge of RBI’s Department of Regulation have been named members of this expert committee.
Its terms of reference include taking stock of the regulatory measures taken by the Reserve Bank and other authorities in respect of UCBs and assess their impact over the last five years to identify key constraints and enablers in fulfillment of their socio-economic objective.
The committee is also expected to Review the current Regulatory/Supervisory approach and recommend suitable measures/changes to strengthen the sector, suggest effective measures for faster rehabilitation/resolution of UCBs and assess the potential for consolidation in the sector. It will also consider the need for differential regulations and examine prospects to allow more leeway in permissible activities for UCBs with a view to enhance their resilience.
