New licensing regime for UCBs on the cards after a 17-year standstill

What went unnoticed is that the RBI has been tightening the screws on UCBs for a while now

On June 25, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular which barred those holding political office, members of municipal corporations and other local bodies from being corner-room occupants, or whole-time directors (WTDs) in urban cooperative banks (UCBs). The circular was seen as overreach on the part of the central bank and synched along with the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation (MoC) — having been issued just 10 days prior. An otherwise well-intentioned measure became captive to politics, with some opposition parties on record saying that it is meant to clip their wings. Even if true, this should