Will consider whether to appeal against RBI’s rejection of banking license: Sachin Bansal

Serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO of the fintech firm Navi Finserv Pvt Ltd, Sachin Bansal has said that his company will consider whether it would like to appeal against the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) rejection of universal banking license to his microfinance company Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited, the NBFC which serves the rural areas of the country.

The RBI said in a notification on Tuesday that out of the 11 applications that the central bank received for licensing of universal banks and small finance banks, six have been rejected. This included Bansal-led Chaitanya India Fin Credit’s application.

“The news has just reached us about the RBI rejecting our universal banking license. We will analyse the reasons behind this and weigh our options. We may also consider appealing against the RBI decision,” Bansal said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Navi Finserv, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bansal's Navi Technologies Finserv Limited (Navi), today announced the public issue amounting to Rs 600 crore through Secured, Rated, Listed & Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), with a base issue of Rs 300 crore and an option to retain over-subscription of another Rs 300 crore. The issue will open on Monday May 23, 2022 and is scheduled to close on Friday, June 10, 2022, with an option of early closure or extension.

Navi Finserv offers personal loans and home loans under the “Navi" brand and claims to make loans available to across over 84 per cent of all Indian pin codes. The company’s net worth stood at Rs 1,189 crore as on December 31, 2021 and it has maintained a standalone debt to equity ratio of 2.1x as on December 31, 2021.