कनेक्ट 2 रेगुलेट

In view of the release of the draft Amendment Directions on Responsible Business Conduct (“Directions on RBC”), extant regulations governing undertaking of financial services issued vide Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks - Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025, have also been reviewed and amended. The revised draft regulatory framework aligns the instructions with the “Directions on RBC” and also put in place additional prudential norms for certain businesses.

In view of the release of the draft Amendment Directions on Responsible Business Conduct (“Directions on RBC”), extant regulations governing undertaking of financial services issued vide Reserve Bank of India (Regional Rural Banks - Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025, have also been reviewed and amended. The revised draft regulatory framework aligns the instructions with the “Directions on RBC” and also put in place additional prudential norms for certain businesses.

In view of the release of the draft Amendment Directions on Responsible Business Conduct (“Directions on RBC”), extant regulations governing Agency Business and Referral Services issued vide Reserve Bank of India (Payments Banks - Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025, have also been reviewed and amended. The revised draft regulatory framework aligns the instructions with the “Directions on RBC” and also put in place additional prudential norms for ‘Agency Business and Referral Services’.

In view of the release of the draft Amendment Directions on Responsible Business Conduct (“Directions on RBC”), extant regulations governing Agency Business and Referral Services issued vide Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025, have also been reviewed and amended. The revised draft regulatory framework aligns the instructions with the “Directions on RBC” and also put in place additional prudential norms for ‘Agency Business and Referral Services’.

In view of the release of the draft Amendment Directions on Responsible Business Conduct (“Directions on RBC”), extant regulations governing Agency Business and Referral Services issued vide Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025, have also been reviewed and amended. The revised draft regulatory framework aligns the instructions with the “Directions on RBC” and also put in place additional prudential norms for ‘Agency Business and Referral Services’.

Reserve Bank had earlier issued instructions on ‘Advertising, Marketing and Sales’ to Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) under Chapter-X on ‘Fair Practices Code’ in Reserve Bank of India (Housing Finance Companies) Directions, 2025. The extant instructions have since been reviewed and it has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), including HFCs but excluding Core Investment Companies, NBFC-Account Aggregators and NBFCs not having any customer interface, under the Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Housing Finance Companies) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

In the context of distribution of mutual fund products by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and entry into insurance business by Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), certain instructions on customer appropriateness and suitability and other related matters have been issued to NBFCs under the Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025. The extant instructions have since been reviewed. It has also been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all NBFCs, excluding Core Investment Companies, NBFC-Account Aggregators, and NBFCs not having any customer interface, under Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

It has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sales of financial products / services to all the All India Financial Institutions under the Reserve Bank of India (All India Financial Institutions – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (All India Financial Institutions - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

It has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all Rural Co-operative Banks under the Reserve Bank of India (Rural Co-operative Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Rural Co-operative Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

It has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all Urban Co-operative Banks under the Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

It has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all Regional Rural Banks under the Reserve Bank of India (Regional Rural Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Regional Rural Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

It has been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sales of financial products / services to all Local Area Banks under the Reserve Bank of India (Local Area Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Local Area Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

In the context of insurance agency business by Payment Banks (PBs), certain instructions on customer appropriateness and suitability and other related matters have been issued to PBs under the Reserve Bank of India (Payments Banks – Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025.The extant instructions have since been reviewed. It has also been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all PBs under the Reserve Bank of India (Payments Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Payment Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

In the context of insurance agency business by Small Finance Banks (SFBs), certain instructions on customer appropriateness and suitability and other related matters have been issued to SFBs under the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025. The extant instructions have since been reviewed. It has also been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all SFBs under the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

In the context of insurance agency business by banks, certain instructions on customer appropriateness and suitability and other related matters have been issued to Commercial Banks (other than Small Finance Banks, Payment Banks Regional Rural Banks, and Local Area Banks) under the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Undertaking of Financial Services) Directions, 2025. The extant instructions have since been reviewed. It has also been decided to issue comprehensive instructions on advertising, marketing and sale of financial product / service to all Commercial Banks (other than Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Local Area Banks) under the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025. Accordingly, the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Responsible Business Conduct) Amendment Directions, 2026” has been issued for public comments.

The Reserve Bank had announced, as part of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 06, 2026, to exempt eligible ‘NBFCs not availing public funds and not having customer interface (including ‘Type I NBFCs’)’ from registration requirement with the Reserve Bank subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, the draft Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Amendment Directions, 2026 have been issued for public comments.

In pursuance of the announcement made in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 6, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India has today issued the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks – Financial Statements: Presentation and Disclosures) – Second Amendment Directions, 2026” for public comments.
Additional comments or any attachments may also be submitted by email at feedbackcrg@rbi.org.in.

In pursuance of the announcement made in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 6, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India has today issued the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks – Credit Facilities) – Amendment Directions, 2026” for public comments.
Additional comments or any attachments may also be submitted by email at feedbackcrg@rbi.org.in.

In pursuance of the announcement made in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 6, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India has today issued the draft “Reserve Bank of India (Urban Co-operative Banks – Concentration Risk Management) – Amendment Directions, 2026” for public comments.
Additional comments or any attachments may also be submitted by email at feedbackcrg@rbi.org.in.

The extant guidelines on opening and closure of branches of NBFCs are prescribed under the Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Branch Authorisation) Directions, 2025, applicable to various categories of NBFCs (including HFCs). Based on a comprehensive review and taking into consideration the evolving regulatory landscape, it has been decided to dispense with the requirement of prior approval/intimation for opening of branches in India by the NBFCs. Accordingly, the draft amendment directions have been issued for public comments.