Ahmedabad co-operative bank’s account manager arrested for fraud

After the director of Siddhi Cooperative Bank, the Kalupur police on Friday arrested the account manager of the bank in connection with a fraud involving bogus bank accounts worth Rs40 lakh.

Sources said the bogus accounts were opened to facilitate illegal transaction some of which also involved trading in the stock market.

According to Kalupur police, HM Goswami, a sub-inspector with Kathlal police station lodged a complaint that his brother's account was showing inflated amount, which was later withdrawn. They got to know of this when they received an account statement from Siddhi Cooperative Bank Ltd, Kalupur.

Saraswat Co-op Bank seeks nod for shares with premium

To ensure that its organic and inorganic growth plans are not hamstrung by the limitations of raising core capital that urban cooperative banks face, the Mumbai-headquartered Saraswat Co-operative Bank has moved the Central Government and the Reserve Bank of India for permission to issue shares at a premium to new members.

Currently, co-operative banks can strengthen their core (Tier-I) capital by issuing shares at face value, ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100, and through plough-back of profits. The capital market is off-limits for them.

Now, the largest multi-state urban co-operative bank (UCB), which has 203 branches spread across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, the bank wants to be able to issue shares at a premium instead of just at face value to substantially augment its capital base.

To be able to double its business to Rs 50,000 crore by March 2016 and also acquire co-operative banks (the bank has zeroed in on five acquisition targets), Saraswat Bank needs growth capital, which is currently a constraining factor, according to Mr Eknath K Thakur, Chairman of the bank.

"Though our book value far exceeds the face value, we cannot raise capital funds through the capital market through initial public offers. We also cannot charge a premium based on book value to new members subscribing to our share capital. Our bank, like most of the UCBs, has become capital starved. We have brought this to the notice of the Central Government as well as the RBI," he said.

To issue shares at a premium, Mr Thakur said, some regulations and laws will need to be urgently amended so that UCBs' growth is not hampered due to capital constraints.

On acquisitions, Mr Thakur said though RBI recently cancelled the licence of Vadodara-based Anyonya Co-operative Bank, Saraswat Bank was still interested in acquiring it as the former sowed the seeds for the co-operative movement in India way back in 1889. He pointed out that while shareholders of India's oldest co-operative bank and the Gujarat Government were for the amalgamation, the employees were opposed to it. Another bank which is on its acquisition radar is the Ichalkaranji UCB.

Between 2006 and 2009, Saraswat Cooperative Bank acquired seven UCBs. These banks had cumulative business of Rs 1,895 crore.

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line 

Mumbai, Sept. 17

Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank signs Intellect Core Banking Solution for Cooperative Banks from Polaris

Laser Soft Infosystems has announced that Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank (NCUB) has signed Intellect Core Banking Solution (CBS) for Cooperative Banks, a comprehensive J2EE & SOA based real time, efficient and integrated core banking system from Polaris. The solution when implemented will enable NCUB customers to avail ATM, Net Banking, Mobile Banking and Remittance services.

The company made this announcement during the trading hours today, 16 September 2010.

courtesy : india infoline limited

No Longer Utopian, Co-op Movement Grows

Worker-owned cooperatives are growing as an alternative business model that puts the people who do the work in control. And they are getting a lot more organized than in the recent past, turning local networks into regional and national organizations.

With the Bay Area still grappling with high unemployment rates and a weak economy, co-op advocates say they have a solution that is gaining momentum.

Membership in the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives has grown 25 percent per year for the past two years, said Melissa Hoover, executive director of the San Francisco-based group, which recently hosted a national conference for co-op businesses in Berkeley.

She said the majority of growth is in worker cooperatives developed to meet social, economic and community needs, and that the dire nature of the economy and limited government intervention available to help distressed workers have left people looking for grass-roots solutions.

Whereas the co-op movement of the 1960s and 1970s had a more utopian, separatist bent, Hoover said, increasingly what she sees are workers excited about cooperatives as a way to be a part of the economy on their own terms. “People are really open to new ideas,” Hoover said, “and they’re looking for hope.”

Small but growing

Dave Karoly, an organizer with the Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives, said the group is trying to compile statistics to

BoB to takeover Memon Cooperative Bank of Mumbai

MUMBAI: Bank of Baroda on Tuesday said it has decided to takeover some asset and liabilities of the city-based Memon Cooperative Bank. 

Approval of government and Reserve Bank of India has been received for the purpose, Bank of Baroda informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

The bank will formulate a scheme for the take over which will be subject to further approvals of the appropriate competent authorities, it said. 

Memon Cooperative Bank has 18 branches across Maharashtra and Gujarat. 

RBI, the banking sector regulator, had suspended the operations of the cooperative bank in May last year owing to poor financial health. 

RBI allows takeover of urban co-operative banks in consultation with the state government, as they are jointly regulated by the central bank and the registrar of cooperatives. 

For the year ended March 2010, Bank of Baroda posted a net profit of Rs 3,058.33 crore registering an increase of 37.32 per cent over the previous fiscal. 

Total income rose to Rs 5,120.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, from Rs 4,992.4 crore in the same period last fiscal. 

On a year-on-year basis, total business of the bank increased by 24 per cent to Rs 4,16,080 crore. While total deposits increased by 25.2 per cent to Rs 2,41,044 crore, total advances increased by 22.2 per cent to Rs 1,75,035 crore in FY10. 

Gross NPAs of the bank have increased by Rs 558 crore to Rs 2,400.69 crore as on March 2010 from Rs 1,842.92 crore in the previous year, reflecting a slow adjustment of Indian industry.

Courtesy : The Economic Times

Siddhi Coop bank director held for fraud

On Friday, Kalupur Police arrested the director of Siddhi Cooperative Bank for allegedly committing Rs 40 lakh fraud through bogus bank accounts.

According to Kalupur Police, complainant Harigiri Goswami, PSI of  Kathlal Police Station said Goswami and his two brothers received a letter from the cooperative bank on May 10. 

He was shocked to see that the letter had the mention of a bank account with transaction worth lakhs on their names, whereas they never had an account in the cooperative bank.

Goswami then filed a complaint with Kalupur police against an unidentified person for operating an account on his name.

The Kalupur Police Station PSI and Investigating Officer of the case MA Pathan told Mirror that Jigar Thakkar(30) director of the bank opened four bogus accounts in his bank.

Thakkar blatantly forged signatures of Goswamis and others to carry out shady transactions. According to police, Thakkar had  transacted more than Rs 40 lakh through the bogus accounts. 

The accused is the resident of Dhaneswer Apartment in Navrangpur. Pre-empting his arrest Thakkar obtained a stay, which was vacated on August 27. 

However, the police arrested him on Friday. “We are probing as to why Thakkar opened multiple fraud accounts?  And we are also trying to find out sources for transaction of Rs 40 lakh,” said Pathan.

courtesy : www.ahmedabadmirror.com

Anyonya: RBI liquidator begins moves to deal the final blow to ailing bank

Ahammed : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed liquidator has started gathering information about depositors and defaulters of the Anyonya Cooperative Bank Limited (ACBL).

According to officials at ACBL, the process to compile information about the bank’s account holders and depositors has started.

“Now the RBI-appointed liquidator has taken over the functioning of the bank and the process to gather the information about the account holders and depositors has started. The bank employees are still coming to the office because without their help it is not possible for RBI to gather the information required for liquidation,” said ACBL Chairman Dilip Kelkar.

RBI had cancelled the licence of the bank — the first cooperative bank in Asia — on September 3, as the lender became bankrupt and all efforts to revive failed.

The bank was asked not to continue any banking related transactions until further directions. It was after the ACBL failed to meet the RBI’s deadline to come up with concrete steps to recover the money from the defaulters by August the license was canceled.

courtesy : www.indianexpress.com

അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് ഭാരവാഹികളുടെ സംസ്ഥാന തല യോഗം കണ്ണൂരില്‍ നടന്നു.

സംസ്ഥാനത്തെ അര്‍ബന്‍ സഹകരണ ബാങ്കുകള്‍ നേരിടുന്ന സവിശേഷ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്യുന്നതിനായി സഹകരണ വകുപ്പ് മന്ത്രി ശ്രീ. ജി. സുധാകരന്‍ വിളിച്ചു ചേര്‍ത്ത അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് ചെയര്മാന്മാരുടെയും ജനറല്‍ മാനേജര്‍ മാരുടെയും ഉന്നത തല യോഗം കണ്ണൂര്‍ ജില്ല ബാങ്ക് ഹാളില്‍ നടന്നു. സംസ്ഥാനത്തെ അറുപതു അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് പ്രതിനിധികളും പങ്കെടുത്ത യോഗം സഹകരണ സംഘം രേജിസ്ട്രാര്‍ ശ്രീമതി റാണി ജോര്‍ജ് ഐ.എ.എസ്. ന്‍റെ അധ്യക്ഷതയില്‍ സഹകരണ വകുപ്പ് മന്ത്രി ഉത്ഘാടനം ചെയ്തു.  സഹകരണ വകുപ്പ് റിസേര്‍വ് ബാങ്കുമായി ചേര്‍ന്ന് നടപ്പിലാകി വരുന്ന ബാങ്ക് അനുകൂല നടപടികള്‍ മന്ത്രിയും രേജിസ്ട്രാരും പ്രസംഗങ്ങളില്‍ വിശദമാക്കി.  റിസര്‍വ് ബാങ്കുമായി ധാരണാ പത്രം ഒപ്പുവേച്ചതിനു ശേഷം സംസ്ഥാനത്തെ അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്കുകള്‍ പുരോഗതിയുടെ പാതയിലാണെന്ന് പ്രസംഗകര്‍ എല്ലാവരും ഒരേ സ്വരത്തില്‍ പറഞ്ഞു.  ധാരണാ പത്രമാണെങ്കിലും വൈദ്യനാഥന്‍ കമ്മിറ്റി രേഖയാനെങ്കിലും സംസ്ഥാനത്തെ സവിശേഷമായ സഹകരണ മേഖലയെ മറന്നുകൊണ്ട് ഒരു വിട്ടു വീഴ്ചയ്ക്കും ഒരുക്കമല്ല എന്ന് മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കി.  വൈദ്യനാഥന്‍ കമ്മിറ്റി രേഖ സംബന്ധിച്ച് ചര്‍ച്ചകള്‍ നടന്നു വരുകയാണ് എന്ന് മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കി.  ഇക്കാര്യം കേന്ദ്ര ധനകാര്യ മന്ത്രിയുമായി ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്തിരുന്നു എന്നും കേരളത്തിന്റെ സവിശേഷ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ പഠിക്കുന്നതിനു നിയോഗിച്ച കേന്ദ്ര  ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥര്‍ ഇക്കാര്യത്തില്‍ അലംഭാവം കാട്ടിയെന്നും മന്ത്രി പറഞ്ഞു.  ബാങ്കുകളിലെ professionalisation സംബന്ധിച്ച് സംസ്ഥാന സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ വേണ്ടതെല്ലാം ചെയ്യുമെന്ന് അദ്ദേഹം പറഞ്ഞു.  സംസ്ഥാന സര്‍ക്കാരിന്‍റെ ജനക്ഷേമ പദ്ധതികള്‍ ഒന്നും തന്നെ നടതാതിരിക്കുന്നത് അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്കുകളുടെ ജനപ്രിയത കുറയ്ക്കുന്നതിന് ഇടയാക്കുമെന്നും മന്ത്രി പറഞ്ഞു.  രണ്ടു മാസത്തിലൊരിക്കല്‍ എല്ലാ ജില്ലയിലെയും അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്കുകളുടെ യോഗങ്ങള്‍ ജില്ലാതലത്തില്‍ ജോയിന്റ് രേജിസ്ട്രര്മാര്‍ വിളിച്ചു ചേര്‍ക്കുമെന്നും ഈ യോഗങ്ങളില്‍ അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്കുകളുടെ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്യപ്പെടുമെന്നും മന്ത്രി പറഞ്ഞു.

സഹരണ രജിസ്ട്രാര്‍, മന്ത്രി, എന്നിവര്‍ക്ക് പുറമേ ബാങ്ക് മാനേജ്‌മന്റ്‌ സംഘടനാ പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌ ശ്രീ. പി.പി.വാസുദേവന്‍, സഹകരണ സംഘം അടീഷണല്‍ രേജിസ്ട്രാര്‍ ശ്രീ. സുരേഷ് ബാബു, ശ്രീ. കെ.പി.നൂറുദ്ദീന്‍, ശ്രീ. ചന്ദ്രമോഹന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയ  ബാങ്ക് പ്രതിനിധികളും പ്രസംഗിച്ചു.

യോഗം ഉച്ചയ്ക്ക് രണ്ടു മണിയോടെ സമാപിച്ചു.

Anyonya Cooperative bank meets RBI officials

Courtesy : Mr. Deepak Kumar, www.indiancooperative.com

The Chairman Dilip Kelkar has met the RBI officials in Ahmadabad to request leniency. Earlier on Friday RBI cancelled its licence and asked it to stop all financial transaction.

Kelkar says that RBI’s order has come at a time when Bank’s board was making serious attempt to revive itself. Given some more time we may hay have clicked the deal.

Its earlier effort to merge with Saraswat Cooperative bank failed as its employees union was sore point in the negotiation.

Ananya Cooperative bank happens to be the oldest cooperative bank not only in India but in whole of Asia

RBI cancels licence of oldest co-op bank

Courtesy : The hindu Business Line

Mumbai, Sept. 6

The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licence of Anyonya Co-operative Bank Ltd, India's oldest co-operative bank.

Established in Vadodara in 1889 as Anyonya Sahayakari Mandali Co-operative Bank Ltd to provide an alternative to exploitation by moneylenders for Baroda's residents, all efforts to revive it in close consultation with the Government of Gujarat had failed and the depositors were being inconvenienced by continued uncertainty, according to the RBI.

The RBI delivered the order cancelling its licence to the bank after the close of business on September 3. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Gujarat, has also been requested to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator for the bank, according to a RBI press release.

On liquidation, every depositor is entitled to repayment of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 1 lakh from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation under usual terms and conditions. The statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2005 assessed the CRAR at (-) 49.2 per cent, negative networth of (-) Rs 2,181.61 lakh, erosion in deposits to the extent of 24.2 per cent. The bank had also defaulted in maintaining of SLR.

Efforts to merge the bank with Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd, Mumbai, also did not fructify. The revival proposal submitted by Anyonya was not found tenable/feasible as it did not specify the amount of capital to be contributed by investors.