Regulators join hands to monitor conglomerates

Financial sector regulators the Reserve Bank of India,Securities and Exchange Board of India,Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority on Friday signed an agreement to monitor financial groups identified as financial conglomerates (FC),apart from approving a national strategy for financial education (NSFE).

The decisions were taken at a sub-committee meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC),chaired by RBI Governor D Subbarao. Apart from Subbarao,the meeting was attended by finance secretary RS Gujral,secretary,department of economic affairs (DEA),Arvind Mayaram,secretary,department of financial services (DFS),Rajiv Takru,Chief Economic Adviser Raghuram G Rajan and chairmen of regulatory bodies.

Financial groups like ICICI,SBI and HDFC are considered as FCs as they operate in segments like mutual funds,banking,insurance and private equity with different regulators overseeing various functions.