All you want to know about SROs in finance

The key to effective implementation of the SRO regime is avoiding overlap

- TAMAL BAN DYOPADHYAY

In August, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recognised the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) as a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) in the financial technology (fintech) sector.

The banking regulator had received three applications. Of these, one was granted the SRO status; one has been asked to reapply after meeting specific requirements, and the third is still under review.

How many RBI-approved SROs are there for banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India?

In 1944, a group of bankers met under the chairmanship of Pranlal Devkaran Nanjee, chairman of Devkaran Nanjee Banking Company Ltd, to form an association. Two years later, on September 26, 1946, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) was born. This premier banking body has been crafting industry-wide wage settlements since 1966 besides serving as an interface between banks, the RBI, and the government. However, it is not an SRO. The Association of Small Finance Banks of India, a relatively recent body representing small finance banks, is also an association, not an SRO.

The Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association of India (FEDAI), established in 1958, is probably the first SRO in this space. It was formed as an association of banks dealing in foreign exchange (authorised dealers) and is incorporated under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Its responsibilities include framing rules governing the conduct of the inter-bank foreign exchange business among banks vis-à-vis the public, and liaising with the RBI for reforms and development of the forex market.

The Forex Association of India, composed of treasury managers, foreign exchange dealers, and foreign exchange brokers, is not an SRO. Similarly, the Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India is a voluntary market body but not an SRO.