Cosmos Bank bags NAFCUB Award

The fastest growing Multistate Co-operative Scheduled Bank, the Cosmos Co-operative Bank  was awarded as ‘India’s oldest Co-operative Bank’  at Annual General Meeting of ‘National Federation of Urban Co-operative Banks and Credit Societies Ltd (NAFCUB) in New Delhi.

The Vice Chairman of Cosmos Bank, Mr Krishnakumar Goyal was honored with a trophy by Mr H K Patil, the President of ‘NAFCUB’.

The Cosmos Bank with its history of 106 years of glory was specially honored at this occasion.

Cosmos Bank is the leading Co-operative Bank in Co-operative sector of India with 119 branches and extension counters in 6 states. At present Bank has a total financial set-up of more than Rs. 21,800 cr.

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Courtesy : www.indiancooperative.com

Malegam Report to be implemented soon: RBI

Participating in a Punjab and Maharashtra cooperative bank event in Bombay H R Khan Deputy Governor of the RBI said the apex bank would soon implement the suggestions made by the Malegam Committee on the cooperative banks.

The committee, among other things, has recommended a dual approach of having a board of directors   appoint a board of management to run the cooperative banks and a relaxation of entry norms for the cooperative banks in the areas not yet covered by banking services, the RBI deputy added.

Mr Khan urged the cooperative banks to put in their utmost efforts to expand their business as their growth thus far leaves a lot to be desired. The share of the cooperative banks in banking business has gone down from six percent to a mere two percent, he noted.

However, the RBI deputy governor lauded the cooperative banking sector for improving its assets   quality and accomplishing mergers of weaker links with stronger ones in its chain.

Main recommendations of Malegam Report

UCBs play a useful role and there is need for a greater presence of UCBs in unbanked districts and in centers having population less than 5 lakh. It is necessary to encourage new entrants to open banks and branches in States and Districts which are unbanked or inadequately banked. It is equally necessary to discourage new entrants from opening branches in Districts and population centers which are already adequately banked.

The existing well managed co-operative credit societies meeting certain financial criteria like profits, capital adequacy, NPAs’ proportion etc. should be given priority for granting licenses as urban co-operative banks particularly in unbanked or inadequately banked centers.

Organization Structure of New UCBs

There should be segregation of the ownership of the UCB as a co-operative society from its functioning as a bank. The new organization structure shall consist of a Board of Management in addition to the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors (BoD) would be elected in accordance with the provisions of the respective Co-operative Societies Acts and would be regulated and controlled by the RCS / CRCS.

The (BoD) will establish a Board of Management (BoM), consisting of persons with professional skills, which shall be entrusted with the responsibility for the control and direction of the affairs of the Bank assisted by a CEO who shall have the responsibility for the management of the Bank.

RBI would have unfettered powers to control and regulate the functioning of the UCB and of its BoM and of the CEO in exactly the same way as it controls and regulates the functioning of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive in the case of a commercial bank.

It should be made a condition of the license that every new UCB should be required to have a Board of Management (BoM) to be appointed by the Board of Directors (BoD) and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to be appointed by the BoM. While the BoD will be responsible for laying down the broad contours of strategy, the BoM will be vested with the mandate to direct and control the day-to-day operations of the UCB within the limits set by the BoD. At least 51 per cent of the members of the BoM should have special knowledge or practical experience in the matters specified in Section 10 A(2) of the B. R. Act, 1949.

Members of the BoD can be members of the BOM provided they fulfill the conditions specified. Members of the BoM can be paid such sitting fees as the BOD may decide subject to a ceiling to be specified by RBI. The BoM to follow a Code of Corporate Governance to be specified by RBI.

The CEO shall be responsible for the management of the whole or substantially the whole of the affairs of the UCB but shall be subject to the control and direction of the BoM. The appointment of the CEO shall be subject to the prior approval of RBI.

Audit by a Chartered Accountant to be appointed by the BoM from out of a panel of approved auditors maintained by RBI and subject to rotation after four years.

Umbrella Organization

There should be two separate Umbrella Organizations viz. a national level organization which provides payments and settlement services and other services normally provided by central banks as also liquidity support to its members; and one or more organizations which provide the management, IT, training and other services which the UCB sector needs.

The national level UO should preferably be in the form of a multi-state UCB with membership being restricted to and mandatory for all UCBs other than scheduled UCBs.

Member UCBs should be required to maintain their CRR in the form of deposits with the UO.

The UO should invest its funds only in the form of balances with RBI, deposits with commercial banks or in SLR securities and in no other form.

The UO should offer Repos and Reverse Repos facilities to UCBs in the same manner as RBI offers to commercial banks and at the same rates of interest.  In turn, it should enjoy Repos and Reverse Repos facilities with RBI.

UCBs can avail of Repos facilities only to the extent of their excess SLR holdings.

Until the Payments and Settlements facilities are provided directly to UCBs, the UO will act as a gateway to provide these services for a fee to UCBs. In turn, the UO will be a member of the Payments and Settlement System.

Being a UCB, the UO would have a Board of Management and will be subject to the regulation, supervision and inspection of RBI.

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Courtesy : www.indiancooperative.com

PSU, other banks flock to portal for resolution of NPAs

AHMEDABAD, OCT 3: 

Indian banks and financial institutions, which had cumulative non-performing assets (NPAs) worth about Rs 1.25 lakh crore by March 2012, are seeking help from a dedicated portal for resolution of their NPAs.

Public sector banks such as State Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and others including IDBI Bank and Nabard, have started posting their NPA recovery notices on the portal NPAsource.com in the hope of an early resolution, Mr Devendra Jain, Chairman of Atishya Group, which floated the dedicated portal last year, toldBusiness Line here.

Between March 2011 and March 2012, the cumulative NPAs of banks and financial institutions (FIs) in India increased from Rs 94,000 crore to Rs 1.25 lakh crore, he said. Banks and FIs post their advertisements and notices on the portal, for a fee, expecting a global response to their efforts at resolution unlike newspaper advertisements which have a short-time, local exposure. “We also track the developments on these NPAs.”

A month ago, NPAsource.com opened an office in Dubai where it is in talks with some Gulf-based banks as well for utilising the portal’s services to resolve their NPAs and get their corporate clients to consider buying NPA properties in India. The portal plans to go global with its branches in the USA and Europe, besides New Delhi and Bangalore, in the next one year, and would also appoint franchisees across 30 major cities in India.

Jain said with more banks joining the league and sharing more details on their NPAs, the portal expects that these banks could get better value for their NPA resolutions.

NPAsource.com, that offers as an alternative to the banks and FIs to resolve their NPAs through dedicated service, is the third such portal in India, the other two being BankDRT and foreclosureindia.com. The portal offers a one-stop-solution to all stakeholders including lenders, borrowers, investors and facilitators who can access data on a single platform for resolution of NPAs.

In one year of its existence, NPAsource.com has generated resolutions worth Rs 1,000 crore and expects to increase it to Rs 5,000 crore in a couple of years, he said. Besides, he said, the portal is also helping in the revival of some enterprises through restructuring of debt etc.

The Gujarat Urban Cooperative Bank Federation (GUCBF), the apex cooperative body for the 244 urban cooperative banks in the state, has recommended to its member banks to use the facilities offered by NPAsource.com to resolve their NPA-related problems, Jain added.

The portal currently has more than 1,000 registered users comprising banks, corporates, chartered accountants’ firms, lawyers, tax consultants and real estate brokers. NPAsource.com has registered NPA properties worth over Rs 13,000 crore in the first year of its operations.

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line

Peons are managers at Rajasthan co-op bank

Living in the times of recession, 'staff crunch' is a term which one gets to hear pretty often, as offices go for downsizing to save cost. 

However, the Ajmer Urban Co-operative Bank has taken this to another level. Two of its branches located in Kekri and Bijainagar, some 80 km and 65 km from Ajmer, respectively, are being run by peons ever since the managers retired on July 31. 

The group IV employees (peons) in these two branches of the bank, the only two to be located outside the city, double up as cashiers as well as branch managers after the Ajmer Urban Co-operative Bank, set up in 1923, decided not to fill up the posts which had fallen vacant recently. 

Enlarge 

MISMANAGERS? Prem Chand Chauhan (L) and Kailash Chandra Vijayvargiya.

The bank's decision, to a certain respect, was influenced by the fact that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had put it on the watch list two years back because of financial irregularities. 

The RBI had also dissolved the bank's board of directors and introduced certain riders on the functioning of the bank. 

However, the RBI did allow the bank to make payments on the fixed deposits upon maturity while it was also allowed to recover outstanding loans from its clients, said Kailash Chandra Vijayvargiya, the peon at the Kekri branch of the bank. 

Vijayvargiya, 43, who took over from Dinesh Gupta, who retired on July 31 as its manager, said ever since, he has been managing the 2,000 savings accounts and around 100 loan accounts with the branch, besides a large number of fixed deposits. 

The total deposits with the branch are over Rs 2 crore, he added. 

Similarly, Prem Chand Chauhan, also a class IV employee, has been managing the affairs of the Bijainagar branch ever since branch manager Babu Lal Marodhia retired on July 31. 

This branch has deposits to the tune of over Rs 1.5 crore. Mukul Kashyap, the managing director of the co-operative bank, conceded the two branches of the bank were being run by peons. 

'We don't have the staff. Those who were working earlier retired over a period of time. If granted permission, the two branches would be closed down,' Kashyap said. 

Joint registrar in the co-operative department, Shakeel Ahmad, said though as per rules peons are not entitled to run branches, in the absence of proper staff there was no alternative left.

Now that the managing director of the bank is not interested in running the two branches, he has been asked to submit a proposal accordingly, he added.

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courtesy : www.dailymail.co.uk

Reserve Bank of India : Working Group on Cloud computing option for small size UCBs

The Reserve Bank of India has today placed on its website, the report of the Working Group on Cloud computing option for small size Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs). The Working Group comprising senior officers from the Reserve Bank, experts from the software industry and eminent professors from academia was set up in July 2012. The Working Group reviewed the profile of the sector, technological trends in Cloud Computing and use of cloud like solutions within UCBs. Based on the analysis, the Working Group has suggested its approach for Cloud computing option.

The study observed that many Urban Cooperative banks have been providing IT support to other cooperative banks which included sharing of Data Centre and DR sites, Automated Teller Machines and Payment Gateways. Some of these banks were also providing their software solutions as outright sale or fees based ASP model. It was observed that two leading software company had been also offering cloud like services which included core banking as well as many other solutions such as HR solutions, e-mail, storage, etc which the banks could choose. These services were mostly on private cloud like set up.

The Working Group has recommended caution while adopting cloud computing solutions by the Urban Cooperative banks till such time that all issues related to its standards and technology management processes are understood and resolved. In cases where such innovative solutions are already adopted, the Working Group has recommended that the issues identified in this report may be examined on the lines indicated in the report to ensure adequacy of risk mitigation measures and to address concern regarding data security and data privacy in the multi-tenancy environment. Finally the Working Group has identified the need for further study in the area of Cloud Governance, Cloud Audit, Cloud Management and Cloud Security Technology.

R. R. Sinha

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Courtesy : www.4-traders.com

RBI to take up deposit-to-equity proposals by UCBs

MUMBAI, SEPT 26: 

The Reserve Bank of India will consider financial restructuring proposals of stressed urban co-operative banks (UCBs) involving conversion of deposits into equity or debt instruments.

This move comes as financially stronger banks are unwilling to acquire weak UCBs, where the deposit erosion is large. In such situations, restructuring of the liabilities (deposits) of the weak UCB may be a viable proposition, said the RBI

The conversion of deposits will be considered even if the lenders’ networth (equity plus reserves) does not become positive post-conversion, said a central bank circular.

However, the conversion of deposits will be subject to the consent of depositors, including small depositors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a notification.

Earlier, the RBI did not permit conversion into equity in the case of small depositors, i.e. depositor having deposit up to Rupees one lakh.

NET WORTH

Further, it had stipulated that the proportion of deposits converted into equity / debt instruments should be such that the net worth of the bank after reconstruction turns positive.

According to Jyotindra Mehta, Chairman, Gujarat Urban Co-operative Banks’ Federation. “Once deposits get converted into equity, a weak UCB’s liability will go down and its networth will increase. This move will help in its revival.”

Depositors, especially above Rs one lakh, may stand to gain from restructuring compared to what they would be entitled to receive from the Deposit Insurance Credit Guarantee Corporation in case of liquidation of the bank.

The RBI said the clause in the earlier notification whereby a portion of the deposit of individual depositors above Rs one lakh may be converted into equity holds good.

INSTITUTIONAL DEPOSITORS

Likewise, a portion of the deposits of the institutional depositors may be converted into Innovative Perpetual Debt Instrument (IPDI), which is eligible for inclusion as Tier I capital.

The total amount raised by a bank through IPDIs cannot exceed 15 per cent of its core capital. These are perpetual instruments with no maturity. The interest payable to the investors is either at a fixed rate or at a floating rate referenced to a market determined rupee interest benchmark rate.

IPDIs come only with call option, which can be exercised by the bank after 10 years.

Courtesy : The Hindu Business Line

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More news on the subject :

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-09-26/news/34101906_1_ipdi-urban-co-operative-banks-depositors

http://www.moneylife.in/article/rbi-to-consider-financial-restructuring-proposals-of-ucbs/28699.html

Rajasthan: Two of the Urban Co-Op banks penalized

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty on the Rajlaxmi Mahila Urban Co-operative Bank Limited based in Jaipur.

The urban cooperative Bank was found violating the RBI directives on unsecured advances, IRAC norms and OBC charges.

The apex Bank had issued a Show Cause Notice to the bank in response to which the latter submitted a written reply.

After considering the facts of the case, the bank’s reply and also personal submissions in the matter, RBI came to the conclusion that the violation was substantiated and warranted imposition of penalty. Accordingly, it penalized the bank.

Similarly RBI has also imposed a monetary penalty on Rajasthan Urban Co-operative Bank Limited for violating the RBI directives on individual and group exposure ceiling, IRAC norms and window-dressing.

After thorough investigation of the matter, RBI came to the conclusion that the bank deserves penalty.

Courtesy : www.indiancooperative.com

Central Order on DA (Pre Revised)

Coop banks look at FM for tax deductions in Budget

While the year 2012 is being celebrated as the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives, all eyes among Indian co-operatives are on Union Finance Minster, Pranab Mukherjee in anticipation of some relief in the upcoming union budget for the year 2012-13.
The cooperative banks (UCBs) have demanded restoration of income tax deduction for all cooperative banks under section 80 (P) of the Income Tax Act.
The deduction under section 80 P was available to all cooperative banks up to and including assessment year of 2006-07, post which, the government imposed income tax on cooperative banks by introducing section 80(P)(4).
In a letter written to the Finance Minister on January 23, 2012, National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies Ltd (Nafcub) has demanded restoration of the income

RBI asks urban co-op banks to get ready for IFRS

Related RBI Circular

The Reserve Bank today asked urban co-operative banks (UCBs) to take necessary steps to ensure smooth transition to new international accounting norms IFRS from April 2014.
"UCBs are advised to take necessary steps to ensure that they are in readiness to adopt to IFRS convergence IAS from April 1, 2013, or April 1, 2014, as the case my be," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a notification.
It said that banks and NBFCs should upgrade their skills, manage information system and technology capabilities for smooth transition to new financial reporting standards to manage complexities and challenges of international standards.
According to a roadmap of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, all large commmercial scheduled banks are mandated to prepare their books of accounts according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from April 1, 2013.
Besides, smaller urban cooperative banks and non-banking finance companies are to converge their opening balance sheets with IFRS from April 1, 2014.
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Courtesy / Source : http://business-standard.com/india/news/rbi-asks-urban-co-op-banks-to-get-ready-for-ifrs/159688/on

RBI raises bank rate to 9.5% for Urban Co-op Banks

Mumbai, Mar 7: 

The Reserve Bank has hiked bank rate for Primary (urban) Co-operative Banks by 3.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent with effective from February 13, 2012.

”...it is determined that the bank rate should normally stay aligned to the MSF (marginal standing facility) rate.

“Accordingly, it has been decided that with effect from the close of business of February 13, 2012, the bank rate (for UCBs) will stand increased by 350 basis points, from 6 per cent per annum to 9.50 per cent per annum,” RBI said in a notification today.

As the bank rate is a discount rate, “it should technically be higher than the policy repo rate,” said a notification issued to CEOs of all Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks.

The RBI repo rate currently stands at 8.5 per cent while reverse repo rate is at 7.5 per cent.

Bank rate is the standard rate at which the Reserve Bank buys or re-discount bills of exchange or other commercial paper.

It is used as a penal rate which the banks have to pay for their failure to meet the mandatory Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).

Earlier on February 13, 2012, RBI had increased the bank rate for all scheduled commercial banks to 9.5 per cent from 6 per cent, after a gap of nine years.

The bank rate has been kept unchanged at 6 per cent since April 2003.

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Courtesy / Source : http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/article2970549.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

RBI: Weak urban co-operative banks may lose licence

Link to RBI Circular : Circular on Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) dated 01.03.2012

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday directed the management of urban co-operative banks to keep their financial positions strong, failing which, it said, it could resort to tough measures, including cancelling their licences.
If a co-operative bank's deposit erodes beyond 25%, the central bank would issue a showcause notice for cancellation of the licence of the bank concerned, which it calls supervisory action. Other conditions are not specific.
The action "would increase in terms of severity as the financials deteriorate and could include restriction on pre-mature withdrawal of deposits, freeze on the level of advances/deposits, prohibition in

E.P.Sreekumar & A.V.Usman will lead Kerala CEOs' fourm

Sri. E.P.Sreekumar (Thrippunithura Peoples urban cooperative bank) was elected as the President and Sri. A.V.Usman (Ponnani Coop Urban Bank) was elected as the General Secretary of the Kerala  Coop Urban Bank Chief Executives' Forum in its General Body meeting held at Thiruvananthapuram on 14th February. 
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കേരളത്തിലെ സഹകരണ അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് ചീഫ് എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് ഓഫീസര്‍മാരുടെ സംഘടനയായ കേരള കോ- ഓപ്പറെറ്റീവ് അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് ചീഫ് എക്സിക്യുട്ടീവ്‌സ് ഫോറം ഭാരവാഹികളായി താഴെ പറയുന്നവരെ ഫെബ്രുവരി 14  നു തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് ചേര്‍ന്ന ജനറല്‍ ബോഡി യോഗം തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്തു:

പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌ : ശ്രീ. ഇ.പി.ശ്രീകുമാര്‍ (തൃപ്പൂണിത്തുറ)
ജനറല്‍ സെക്രട്ടറി : ശ്രീ എ. വി. ഉസ്മാന്‍ (പൊന്നാനി)

വൈസ് പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌ : ശ്രീ. ടി.കെ.ദിലീപ് കുമാര്‍ (ഇരിഞ്ഞാലക്കുട)
ജോയിന്റ് സെക്രട്ടറി : ശ്രീ. ടി.ശിവദാസന്‍ (തിരൂര്‍)

എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് അംഗങ്ങള്‍ :
ശ്രീ സുനില്‍ പ്രകാശ് (പഴയങ്ങാടി)
ശ്രീ ബാബുരാജ്‌ (കോഴിക്കോട് Mercantile Coop Bank)
ശ്രീ സാബു ചാക്കോ (കൊട്ടാരക്കര)

ഇ.പി.ശ്രീകുമാര്‍

എ.വി.ഉസ്മാന്‍

അനുബന്ധ പരിപാടിയായി അര്‍ബന്‍ സഹകരണ ബാങ്ക് പ്രതിനിധികളും റിസര്‍വ്വ് ബാങ്ക് ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥന്മാരും പങ്കെടുത്ത കോണ്‍ഫറന്‍സ് നടന്നു.  അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്കുകള്‍ നേരിടുന്ന വിവിധ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ ചര്‍ച്ച ചെയ്യപ്പെട്ടു.  മറ്റൊരു അനുബന്ധ പരിപാടിയായി പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌, വൈസ് പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌, ജനറല്‍ മാനേജര്‍ മാര്‍ എന്നിവര്‍ക്കുള്ള പരിശീലന പരിപാടി നടന്നു.

വിവിധ പരിപാടികളില്‍ റിസര്‍വ് ബാങ്ക് റീജിയണല്‍ ഡയരക്ടര്‍ ശ്രീമതി സുമ വര്‍മ, ഡെപ്യൂട്ടി ജനറല്‍ മാനേജര്‍ ശ്രീമതി സൂസന്‍ കുര്യന്‍, NAFCUB  എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് ഡയറക്ടര്‍ ശ്രീ സുഭാഷ് ഗുപ്ത, അര്‍ബന്‍ ബാങ്ക് മാനേജ്‌മന്റ്‌ സംഘടന പ്രസിഡന്റ്‌ ശ്രീ. പി.പി.വാസുദേവന്‍, സെക്രട്ടറി ശ്രീ. ജയ വര്‍മ്മ തുടങ്ങിയ വിശിഷ്ട വ്യക്തികള്‍ പങ്കെടുത്തു.
ചടങ്ങില്‍ വെച്ച് ഡയരക്ടര്‍ മാര്‍ക്കുള്ള കൈപ്പുസ്തകം മുംബൈ റിസര്‍വ് ബാങ്കിലെ ശ്രീ. നന്ദകുമാര്‍ പ്രകാശനം ചെയ്തു.

I expect a simpler but effective tax system

I look forward to this year’s Budget as a milestone in India’s growth and development. We are at a crucial stage where the estimated fiscal deficit of 5.6-5.7 per cent of GDP looks too high and will take delicate balancing to bring it down by a percentage point. The overall GDP growth rate is showing a declining trend. We are just recovering from high inflation and have a challenge to keep it under control. I expect a simpler but effective tax system in the Budget to ensure the realisation of the targeted revenue generation.
Infrastructure and power generation are important sectors for growth. Many states, including Maharashtra, are facing serious power shortage. Serious efforts are needed to bring in investment in

Pioneering change

One should not mistake Mumbai-based Shamrao Vithal Cooperative (SVC) Bank as a regular urban cooperative bank. Not only has the bank grown exponentially – in the past seven years, the bank has scaled up its turnover from Rs 1,600 crore to 13,000 crore. From presence in 37 places, it now boasts of being in 120 locations. “We have grown by nearly six times in less than a decade, only because of the technological advancement the bank committed itself to,” says Ravikiran S Mankikar, General Manager, IT.
The bank not only has an in-house IT team, it is also the only bank in India that has its core banking on a virtual platform. Even the core banking business is done via virtualisation – the backbone for cloud. The bank caters to 10 lakh customers through 129 branches and has implemented a three-tier architecture-based banking solution on a distributed database called Genius I, which provides a single window solution for

Two power centers result in coordination problems: Chairman, Mahesh Bank

The A.P. Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank is leading Urban Cooperative bank of Andhra Pradesh with a presence in the far-flung areas of the state. It caught media attention on the eve of launch of its own ATM Card recently.
The year 2012 being the international year of cooperative as declared by United Nations, Indian Cooperative decided to celebrate the success of cooperative institutions by interviewing the Chairman of Mahesh Bank, the dynamic Mr Ramesh Bung. This is our time as the ICA contributor said once, signalling the onset of IYC 2012.
Institutions are built around individuals

Deposits in co-op banks, societies up

CHENNAI: Deposits in co-operative banks and societies in TN have touched Rs.23,081 crore so far this fiscal, even as crop loan disbursal is close to achieving target, the Cooperation Department said on Tuesday.
Minister for Cooperation Sellur K Raju reviewed implementation of 15 schemes announced in the budget session of the Assembly last year as there are just 45 days left in the current financial year. Raju directed the officials to achieve the targets fixed for various loans by March 2012.
During the current financial year, it was decided to extend short-term crop loans to farmers to the tune of Rs.3,000 crore and so far, Rs.2,821.61 crore has been disbursed. Of this, around Rs.600 crore was to be given to the members belonging to the SC/ST communities and as of now, Rs.373.11 crore has been disbursed. The government had fixed Rs. 5,920 crore as the target for disbursing loans through 125 urban cooperative banks and of this, Rs.4,377.36 crore has been given, the department said.
The status of disbursal of other loans is as follows: jewel loans Rs.676.69 crore against Rs.1,000 crore), investment loans (Rs.151.60 crore against Rs. 300 crore), produce pledge loans (Rs.40.75 crore against Rs.85 crore), minor irrigation loans (Rs.26.10 crore against Rs.50 crore), micro credit loans (Rs.46.57 crore against Rs.80 crore), and loans for differently-abled (Rs.9.99 crore against Rs.15 crore).
Meanwhile, it was decided to disburse Rs.170 crore as loans to SHGs through District Central Cooperative Banks, Urban Cooperative Banks, Primary Agricultural Rural and Development Banks. Of this, Rs.111.50 crore has been disbursed so far, a government release said.

Launch of Mahesh RuPay ATM Card ‎

The Mahesh Rupay ATM card is expected to draw more users to its ATM channel and also reduce the overall transaction costs for the bank.

The A.P. Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank has launched its Mahesh RuPay ATM card in collaboration with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). Intended primarily for no frills account holders, the Rupay ATM card is expected to draw more users to its ATM channel and also reduce the overall transaction costs for the bank.

Commenting on the launch, A P Hota, managing director and chief executive officer of NPCI said that in the longer run, increasing use of ATM cards will prove to be cost-effective for both the lenders and its customers and that the A P Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank had taken a lead in the cooperative sector in south India by launching its ATM card.

According to reports, the bank's business has crossed Rs1775 crore and it plans to expand its branch network to other states in the country. At present, it has a total of 36 branches majority of which are located in Hyderabad and its twin city, Secunderabad.

http://www.moneylife.in/article/launch-of-mahesh-rupay-atm-card/23495.html

Banking on better IT solutions

It is one of the oldest urban cooperative banks in India, but you can’t mistake it for being outdated. Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd is relentlessly working towards innovation and making its services and functions more robust to serve its customers better. But when it came to giving the bank’s IT infrastructure a makeover, there was a lot to be done.
A year ago, the bank had 17 independent servers, several of them outdated and badly networked. “With power costs going through the roof, running them was proving to be expensive,” reveals Vasant Manwadkar, Head, IT, Cosmos Bank. Maintaining these servers also meant designating at least three people for their upkeep, apart from paying for their AMCs and

Financial Inclusion in Urban Cooperative Banks

Mr Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India spoke on the occasion of the launch of the Financial Inclusion program of Cosmos Bank at Pune recently.
Since the speech encompassed many areas of Urban Cooperative Banks operation we produce below the text of speech for readers’ benefit

Shri Shashikant Bugde, Chairman, Shri Krishnakumar Goyal, Vice-Chairman,  Dr. Mukund Abhyankar and other Directors of the Cosmos Bank, Shri Sudhir Thakre, Secretary, Rural Development, Govt. of Maharashtra, all the aspiring women entrepreneurs present here this evening and ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be here this evening amongst all of you on the occasion of the launch of the Cosmos Bank’s Financial Inclusion Programme.  I would like to thank the Cosmos Bank for inviting and giving me an opportunity to be a part of this initiative which seeks to address one of the most pressing issues of our times.
2.  Cosmos Bank is one of the oldest banks in the country and has recently completed 105 years of service. While nurturing the traditional values it has inherited, of serving the small customer, the bank has also moved with times and has prepared itself for the future, by adopting new technologies and

SC stays Orissa HC order on co-operative bodies

In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the verdict of Orissa High Court that had quashed the state government nominated councils for running co-operative banks in the state.
While granting this relief to the state government, the apex court has served notices to the elected council of the co-operative bodies to present counter and appear before the court for final disposal of the case.
The state government had challenged the High Court order in the apex court on appointment of government nominees in the cooperative bodies.
The Supreme Court's direction has come as a solace to the state government as the nominated panels can now manage the various cooperative bodies in place of the elected bodies.
It may be noted that, in December last year, the Orissa High Court had quashed the government nominated councils and ordered for conduct of election within six months.
On September 24, 2011, the state government had dismissed all the elected councils of cooperative bodies by enforcing the Orissa Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2011, and had nominated panels to manage them.
Terming the move as illegal and arbitrary, elected members of 24 cooperative bodies had filed petitions in the High Court. The petitioners included elected members of various urban cooperative banks, central cooperative banks and marketing co-op societies.
The banks include Orissa State Cooperative Bank, Puri Urban Cooperative bank, Nuapada RCMS, Alaka Central Cooperative Store and six central cooperative banks.
The central cooperative banks include Cuttack Central Cooperative Bank, Aska Central Cooperative Bank, Nayagarh Central Cooperative Bank, Bhadrak-Balasore Central Cooperative Bank, Banki Central Cooperative Bank and Bhawanipatna Central Cooperative Bank.

NCUI: Presidential massage on New Year 2012

On the eve of New Year 2012, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to the fellow cooperators, employees, leaders and members of various cooperative societies and their families.  The cooperative sectors play an important role in the mainstream of Indian Economy, agriculture & social development.  They have direct & indirect impact on socio economic development and promote and support entrepreneurial development, creating productive employment, raising income, reducing poverty and creating social harmony

HUDCO tax free bonds issue to open on January 27

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) is issuing tax free bonds with a face value of Rs 1,000 each in the nature of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures having benefits under section 10(15)(iv)(h) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as amended, aggregating Rs 2,000 crore with an option to retain an oversubscription of up to Rs 4,684.72 crore (shelf limit).
The minimum application size is ten (10) bonds and in multiples of one (1) bond thereafter. The issue will open on January 27, 2012, and will close on February 6, 2012, or earlier, or may be extended by such period, upto a period of 30 days from the date of opening of the issue, as may be decided by the board of the company or by a duly constituted committee.
The bonds carry a coupon rate of 8.10% for Tranche-I

Ramgarhiya coop bank chairman urges easing of tax burdens

RBI and government invariably equate the cooperative banks with the national banks and accordingly pursue a flawed policy of collecting the same type of tax from both. It is unreasonable to force the cooperative banks to pay a high tax,said Mr Inderjeer Singhjee Chairman of Ramgarhiya Cooperative bank in Delhi.
If government is keen to keep the cooperative banks

Don’t follow US taxation: Jamia Coop Bank Chairman

Following in America’s footsteps by effecting a spike in taxation on the cooperative banks would have disastrous consequences, warned Prof Asad Ali, Chairman of Jamia Cooperative bank while talking to Indian Cooperative.com in Delhi.
If the urban cooperative banks continued to pay high taxes, most of them might unravel, he added.
According to Prof Ali, the coop banks are much smaller in size and can barely compare with the national banks.
The govt should bring in a taxation policy that strengthens the capacity of these banks to serve the weaker sections of society. The coop banks are doing a job, the big commercial banks can never do. This simple fact should be adequately appreciated by the govt and the RBI,he asserted.
Founded in 1995, Jamia Cooperative bank has six branches in all. It has posted a net profit of more than 2 crore this year. The bank is working hard to increase its annual profit.
The bank is being democratically governed by a board of 12 directors and has decided to open new branches in Nurnagar and Badarpur.
Jamia Cooperative bank has never attracted any punitive action from the RBI though it transacts business of more than 118 crore. It has been able to win the excellence award in the year 2001-2, claimed its Chairman. Along with Nafcub it intends to celebrate international year of cooperative,2012.
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www.indiancooperative.com

RBI cracks down on violations by co-operative banks

Every four-and-a-half days during this fiscal, at least one cooperative bank has been either penalized or stripped of its licence to operate, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cracks down on rule violations by these banks.
Overall, 73 such banks have either been penalized or asked to shut by the banking regulator so far this fiscal, signalling its lack of tolerance for breach of norms by the institutions. The comparable figure in the last fiscal was 44 banks and in 2010, 31 banks.
Ten banks each were asked to shut down in 2011 and

Urban Cooperative Banks are unique: Khatri Bank Chairman

It was a pity that in spite of their long and close association with the cooperative movement,  several leaders at national level had not yet thought it necessary  to exert their  influence in favour of the cooperative movement.  Weighed down by the government’s negative attitude cooperative banks are suffering greatly , noted P R Mehra, Chairman Khatri  Cooperative Bank  in an exclusive interview with  the  indiancooperative.com  correspondent in New Delhi.
The cooperative banks are playing an important role in the Indian economy providing people with banking services in areas where the big commercial banks were shy of operating.
It was therefore strange that the Indian government followed   policies that weakened the cooperative banks and their resolve to make their valuable contributions to the country’s economy, Chairman added.
Instead of bringing in policies favourable to the co-op banking sector, the govt imposed restrictions and taxes on it impairing its ability to work. Direct tax code was a case in point, Mr Mehra added.
Mr Mehra claims his bank has had a reasonably good career. It posts an annual profit of a little less than 2 crore net. It has about 50 thousand account holders with an annual turnover working out to an impressive Rs 184 crore.
Established way back in 1939, it is one of the oldest banks in the capital. It will soon undergo complete computarization. It has always been functioning in conformity with the rules laid down by the govt and has never attracted adverse comments or punishments from the Reserve Bank of India.
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courtesy : www.indiancooperative.com

Obtaining Coop Bank Licence won’t be tough: Abhyankar

Many persons approach the office of Indiancooperative.com to find out what is happening on the fronts of granting licence to Urban Cooperative Banks. We decided to find out the truth from horse’s mouth.
Mr Mukund Abhyankar, Member of the Malegam Committee which was entrusted with the job of doing a threadbare analysis of issues and suggest recommendations for the grant of licence was kind enough to have consented for an interview.
Mr Abhyankar is a renowned cooperative leader

RBI allows co-op banks to fix NRE deposit rates

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank today allowed cooperative and primary urban cooperative banks to fix their interest rates on various non-resident deposit schemes.
Extending the ambit of its recent decision to deregulate deposit rates, RBI said, "Banks are free to determine their interest rates on both savings deposits and term deposits of maturity of one year and above under Non-Resident (External) Rupee deposit accounts and savings deposits under Ordinary Non-Resident accounts with immediate effect."

Courtesy : Economic Times