The Reserve Bank of India has yet to form a view on an internal panel's recommendation of allowing corporates to own banks and will take a final call on it after collecting public comments, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday while speaking at the bimonthly monetary policy meeting.

Das's gesture to distance the RBI's view from its internal working group's (IWG) recommendation after two weeks follows sharp criticism from experts, including former RBI governors, deputy governors and also chief economic advisors. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had cautioned against entry of industrial houses into ownership of banks, arguing it would lead to concentration of economic and political power with certain corporates. This would also make us vulnerable to authoritarian cronyism, he had pointed out.

The IWG had also suggested allowing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with over Rs 50,000 in assets to be converted into banks. It also lowered the time taken before a payments bank can convert into a small finance bank.

Das said the IWG proposal is not the RBI's official view. He said the five-member IWG, which had two members of RBI's central board and three officials from RBI, acted "independently" and gave a certain point of view.

"It is a report of the IWG, not the RBI's official view. The RBI has not taken any decision. Our approach is consultative (on this issue). The report is in public domain. After comments, we will examine and take a considered decision," Das said.

As per the IWG report, only one member of the panel supported the entry of corporates or industrial houses into promoting banks.

Some experts including former ICICI CEO K V Kamath supported the entry of corporates into the banking sector but with the rider that enough regulations should be prescribed. "Since India must broaden and deepen its financial system to achieve its national goals, we need to seriously consider letting corporate players in, albeit once appropriate checks and balances are in place to ensure systemic stability," Kamath had written in an article for Mint.

After nationalisation of banks, there have been three instances when the RBI has issued licences to private banks. In 1993-94, the RBI gave licences to 10 private sector banks—Global Trust Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, UTI Bank Ltd (renamed Axis Bank Ltd), Bank of Punjab, IndusInd Bank Ltd, Centurion Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank Ltd, Times Bank and Development Credit Bank Ltd.

In 2003-04, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and Yes Bank Ltd were allowed to operate banks.

In the third round in 2014, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank were given the licence from among the two dozen applicants which included industrial conglomerates like the Aditya Birla Group and Reliance Industries.