India Recommends 49% Overseas Ownership Limit in New Banks
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India’s central bank said it may cap foreign shareholding at 49 percent for new lenders for five years as it considers issuing banking licenses for the first time since 2004.
New lenders would have to sell shares within two years and open at least one in four branches in rural areas that have a population of no more than 9,999 people, the Reserve Bank of India said in draft guidelines posted on its website today. The banks may also need to meet a minimum capital requirement of 5 billion rupees ($109 million).