'Have no immediate requirement to be a universal bank'

Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SFB) MD & CEO BASKAR BABU RAMACHANDRAN tells Manojit Saha in an interview in Mumbai that it will take at least two years before the SFB considers becoming a universal bank. Edited excerpts:

How do you see the Reserve Bank of India's recent norms on voluntary conversion to universal banks?

It gives a road map, the clarity on what is required for SFB to convert to a universal bank. Those who have the ambition can be transitioned to a universal bank.

Will Suryoday SFB apply for such a conversion? Before the guidelines, we said that we were not in a hurry to consider the transition to a universal bank. We have a long way to go even as a small finance bank, both in terms of size, and in terms of fulfilling our aspirations for financial inclusion. We do not see any disadvantage of being SFB except for maintaining the priority sector lending target of 75 per cent which we currently are in far excess of the target. At best, it is the opportunity loss of income of not selling PSL. There is no immediate requirement for us to become a universal bank, except for a nomenclature change.