UAE Exchange & Financial Services will apply for a universal banking licence once the Reserve Bank of India’s final guidelines on this front are issued managing director George Antony has said. The non-banking finance company, a leading financial services provider is not looking to apply for a payments bank or small bank licence, Antony said. “We will only go in for universal banking licence. There is no interest on our part for either payments bank or small bank licence,” he said. Antony said a payments bank licence would not be suitable for the UAE Exchange as such a structure will not allow it to undertake lending operations. Currently, UAE Exchange has a thriving personal loan business with a book size of Rs 400-450 crore. UAE Exchange – which is primarily a money changer – has 351 branches across the country. Plans are afoot to add at least 50 new branches a year for the next four to five years, Antony said
