New Delhi, May 25 -- The Reserve Bank of India has tightened governance norms for both urban and rural co-operative banks, mandating a minimum three-year cooling-off period for directors who complete a continuous tenure of ten years on the board of the same bank.

The move, effective immediately under the RBI (Urban Co-operative Banks - Governance) Amendment Directions, 2026 and RBI (Rural Co-operative Banks - Governance) Amendment Directions, 2026, aims to stop directors from skirting statutory tenure limits by resigning briefly and getting re-elected or co-opted.

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, had raised the maximum continuous tenure of directors of UCBs, State Co-operative Banks and Central Co-operative Banks from eight years...