NEW DELHI: The
expenditure department has decided to sanction Rs 1,300 crore to the proposed
Post Bank of India
to meet its capital requirements even as the department of financial services
(DFS) - the wing in the finance ministry that deals with state-run banks and
their poliiies – chose to stay away from the issue.
The proposal's
backing by the expenditure finance commission and its subsequent green light by
finance minister P Chidambaram is seen as the official go-ahead by the finance
ministry, ignoring the DFS's stance. The DFS position is seen as the first
instance of the agency not backing the Post Bank's plan, which officers in the
department have privately mocked at.
"They think
they can use the postal deposit model for their banking foray. Nothing in their
plan seems to be clear. Banking isn't easy," said an officer, who did not
wish to be identified. In fact, a strong Post Bank is seen to be the biggest
challenge to existing public sector banks, including State Bank of India, which
controls 70% of the banking business in the country. SBI, the largest lender,
has a little less than 15,000 branches, while there are over 1.5 lakh post
offices across the country.
Although Post
Bank does not intend to open a bank branch in each post office, the plan is to
use postmen to meet the financial inclusion goal. Secretary (posts) P Gopinath
refused to speak to TOI despite several attempts.
According to the
plan, Post Bank will have 50 branches in the first year, which will be
increased to 150 by the fifth year. The branches will be located in select Head
Post Offices in Tier-1-4 centres and select Sub-Post Offices in Tier-5-6
centres.
To meet RBI
norms, the postal department proposes to set up a new entity - Post Bank of
India - that will have an independent board and separate operations. Apart from
independent directors, the board will have representatives from the finance
ministry and the postal department. Separate recruitment has been planned to
have specialist bankers.
While converting
the entire postal network would have meant a capital requirement of over Rs
60,000 crore, by setting up a special entity, the fund requirement has been
reduced. This, officers said, will also help create a more focused strategy.