India Post Payments Bank may be turned into a small finance lender

NEW DELHI: The government is exploring the expansion of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and possibilities of converting it into a small finance bank and a task force has been set up for studying the logistics and feasibility of conversion of IPPB into a small finance bank.
“Conversion of India Post Payments Bank into a small finance bank will further the goal of financial inclusion by allowing all citizens greater access to enhanced savings and credit,” communications, law and justice and electronics and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
On October 23, TOI had reported that after its grand launch last year IPPB was struggling to survive with mounting salary bills and very little business and there was move to convert it into a small finance bank. The department is awaiting RBI’s nod to transform it into a small finance bank where it can accept deposits of over Rs 1 lakh and advance loans.