RBI expert panel to review governance of bank boards

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an expert committee to review governance of boards of banks in India, which will be headed by former Axis Bank Chairman & CEO P J Nayak.

The committee would review the regulatory compliance requirements of banks’ boards in India, judge what can be rationalised and where requirements need to be enhanced, according to a press release.

Besides, it would examine the working of banks’ boards including whether adequate time is devoted to issues of strategy, growth, governance and risk management; to review central bank regulatory guidelines on bank ownership, ownership concentration and representation in the board.

The committee would also analyse the representation on banks’ boards to see whether the boards have the appropriate mix of capabilities and the necessary independence to govern the institution, and to investigate possible conflicts of interest in board representation, including among owner representatives and regulators. In this regard to also assess and review the ‘fit and proper’ criteria for all categories of directors of banks, including tenor of directorship.

The other members of the panel are S Raman, Whole Time Member, Securities & Exchange Board of India; Shubhalakshmi Panse, Chairperson & Managing Director, Allahabad Bank; Pratip Kar, former Executive Director, Sebi; Joydeep Sengupta, Director, McKinsey & Company, Harsh Vardhan, Partner, Bain & Company India., Somasekhar Sundaresan, Partner, J Sagar Associates, and Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Assistant Professor, Indian School of Business.

It would also examine board compensation guidelines, and any other issue relevant to the functioning of banks’ boards and the governance that they exercise.