Page 19 - BF Cover February 2019

CO-OPERATIVE BANK NEWS

CO-OPERATIVE BANK

NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS

Kerala Government planning to amend Co-operative Rupee Cooperative Bank
Societies Act seeks partial merger

The government will be introducing a bill to amend the Kerala Co-operative with Thane Janata
Societies Act on Feb 1 in order to finish the Sahakari Bank
merger of 14 District Cooperative Banks (DCB) to
The Rupee Cooperative Bank has
form one of the state's largest bank - Kerala
sought partial merger of its assets
Cooperative Bank - before the RBI-stipulated
deadline of March 31. and liabilities with the Thane Janata
Sahakari
Earlier, five dissenting UDF-controlled DCBs -
Bank (TJSB).
Malappuram, Idukki, Kottayam, Wayanad and
A proposal
Kasargod - were unable to join the process as the
Kerala Co-operative Societies Act mandated a 2/ in this re-
3rd majority from individual DCB general bodies for mergers and acquisitions. gard has
been sent to Reserve Bank of India.
"The government had brought out an ordinance amending the 2/3rd majority
clause to a simple majority last month. The updated Act will enable all 13 DCBs The Pune-based Rupee Cooperative
to merge to form the Kerala Bank," said Mini Thomas, Secretary, Co-operative Bank has been under special direc-
Department. Malappuram DCB with its 80 primary agricultural societies (PAC) tions of the RBI since 2013. The RBI
out of 129 that constitute the general body being controlled by the UDF-allies, had suspended the then board of di-
will be the only one to be left out of the equation. The government had earlier
rectors of the bank and put it under
indicated the DCBs opposed to the merger will have to transform into 'Urban directions, which put sanctions on
Co-operative Banks' in the incoming two-tier structure of the co-operative bank-
ing system in the state. the functioning of the bank. Pandit
said the current proposal would al-
Mumbai Co-op bank with zero NPA gets award low for partial takeover of the assets
Pratap Cooperative Bank (PCoB), based at Mumbai which has recorded zero non- and liabilities of the Rupee Bank by
performing assets (NPAs) for 10 years, has been named for the Maharashtra the TJSB.
State Cooperative Banks Association Ltd. (MSCBAL) 23rd award for last fiscal,
an official said on Saturday. "Such partial merger has been al-
lowed between cooperative banks
"We have been declared the winner of the 'Padma Bhusna Vasantdada Patil and public sector banks, but has not
Award' for FY 2017-18 for the best cooperative bank in the Rs 100 crore-Rs 500 been allowed between cooperative
crore deposits category," PCoB Chairman C.K. Singh told.
banks so far," he said.

BANKING FINANCE | FEBRUARY | 2019 | 19