Best of BS Opinion: Sebi's timely move, banking reforms, and more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

The Reserve Bank of India’s report of its internal working group on ownership guidelines and corporate structure of private sector banks has raised afresh the issue of allowing large corporate houses to own banks. Is this really a route worth pursuing? The lead edit explains the risks here. Debashis Basu suggests that the debate over licensing more banks or allowing corporate houses to own banks and proposals for other banking formats examined in the report are all technical issues. The real test of policies is whether they lead to better customer experience by way of improving banking services at lower relative cost as banks reap the advantages of technology and scale, he writes. In that sense, the working group’s proposals miss the point. Read his arguments here. In another context, Tamal Bandyopadhyay discusses the three main messages from the RBI sanctioning a merger between the ailing Lakshmi Vilas Bank and DBS Bank’s Indian subsidiary. Read it here. 

Other views examine the prospects for the Indian economy and Sebi’s latest rules on pubic shareholding norms, writes Kanika Datta.

With the GDP numbers for the second quarter of FY21 due later this week, Mihir Sharma examines the outlook for economic recovery after the pandemic is over. Read his assessment here
 

The second edit explains why the market regulator’s proposal to lower public shareholding norms for IPOs is helpful. Read it here
 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s been a great honour to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time”

US President Donald Trump to leaders at the G20 summit, indicating his refusal to accept his election defeat