Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy- governor M. Rajeswar Rao on Friday said it is "uncharacteristic" of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to demand a banking licence as they are already enjoying some regulatory advantages over banks.

Speaking at a CII NBFC Summit here, Rao expressed his displeasure over some of the business practices of NBFC peer-to-peer lending players, which are not in line with regulatory guidelines. P2P platforms (a type of NBFC) are intermediaries that facilitate loans through the online medium.

Referring to the frequent demand of non-bank lenders to let them mobilise public deposits, Rao said it is the non-acceptance of such deposits by NBFCs which provides regulatory comfort to the central bank to have lower entry and exit barriers for them.

Rao was responding to Bajaj Finserv chief Sanjiv Bajaj who said NBFCs have grown and become more "solid" because of the stronger regulation and supervision by RBI. ``Why not think of bank licences for at least a few of them, especially those NBFCs who have spent 10 years, met the compliance requirements, and have proved themselves."

Since the onset of on-tap licences, no NBFC has received permission to become a bank.

The RBI deputy-governor pointed to the relatively easier regulations for NBFCs vis-a-vis banks. For instance, the minimum initial capital requirement for a universal bank is Rs 1,000 crore compared with Rs 10 crore for an NBFC.

"What I would like to emphasise is that the regulations for NBFCs, especially in the upper layer, are much more calibrated, but are not certainly at par with the regulations applicable to banks," Rao said.

He also highlighted the regulator's disenchantment with microfinance companies charging high interest rates.

"Some of the MFIs have increased their margins disproportionately under the new regime. We are not oblivious to the misuse of the freedom provided to the microfinance sector and some of the irresponsible practices, some of these entities (are practising) and more such instances do put pressure to act on these entities," he said.