Explains RBI’s 2025 Directions governing branch opening, digital banking units, business correspondents, and rural outreach. Highlights mandatory 25% URC coverage and strengthened Board oversight.
The Directions held that rural co-operative banks may offer specified financial services only within a structured framework of board oversight, capital strength, and regulatory compliance. The key takeaway is tighter governance while allowing calibrated business expansion.
Fresh directions overhaul how NBFCs can declare dividends, linking payouts to capital adequacy, asset quality, and regulatory compliance to safeguard financial stability.
New directions overhaul how rural cooperative banks classify, value, and manage investments. The key takeaway is stronger board oversight and tighter risk controls across SLR and non-SLR portfolios.
The Directions held that rural co-operative banks must follow a structured approval and compliance framework before offering digital banking, especially for transactional services.
RBI’s 2025 Directions set out procedures for mergers of small finance banks, including board approval, shareholder consent, and submission of financial and governance documents for regulatory scrutiny.
The Directions mandate malus, clawback, deferral, and prohibitions on guaranteed bonuses to align pay with long-term risk outcomes. This ensures responsible remuneration practices that support prudent banking.
RBI mandates clear consent, choice of channels, accessibility, risk management, and protection against unauthorized transactions for digital banking users.
The new Directions lay down binding regulatory norms for HFCs to protect investors and depositors. They strengthen RBI’s supervisory control over the housing finance sector.
The regulator has issued fresh directions requiring transparent, board-approved lending rates and safeguards against usurious interest. Banks must disclose rate ranges and justify total borrowing costs.
