Times of India reports on the first anniversary of the LDF government, Kerala will have a new cooperative bank ‘Kerala Bank’ that will amalgamate district cooperative banks and state cooperative banks, cooperation minister A C Moideen is quoted as saying.
The minister said ”his department plans to integrate all the district cooperative banks and state cooperative banks to launch Kerala Cooperative Bank, that will have a larger role to play in the cooperative sector competing with other mainstream banks.
A committee headed by an expert who has worked at Reserve Bank of India will be soon constituted to prepare the detailed report on the project, The “bank will be launched in one year” the minister said.
The cooperative banks are under the control of Nabard that lends out funds at 1% rate of interest to state cooperative banks which when ultimately reaches the end user, becomes 9% rate of interest after it goes through the state, district and primary cooperative banks.
The state Government do not any credential to its credit of running any State PSU on sustainable manner. If the government wants let they can convert State cooperative bank as Kerala Bank. The major contributor to the weakness of Kerala state Cooperative Bank is the state government it self at whose behest the KSCB accumulated large NPAs.
The DCCBs are strong in Kerala on their own accord and their members deserve a huge encouragement. The net worth of the DCCBs is the hard earning for long and belong to the members which cannot be taken away from them and if the govt does so it is nothing less than a fraud on members and criminal on the part of the state. If the State wants they can transfer their minuscule share which is less than 10% in DCCBs in favour of new bank but the members share cannot be stolen by the government. every meaningful cooperator should oppose such mindless step. It is painful to see the wonderful progress of DCCBs in Kerala is hampered by un warranted and inefficient policy stance.
meddling with the well run institutions is not acceptable way of modern development paradigm.
I think the NCUI shall protect all cooperatives especially the well managed ones and it shall oppose weakening of cooperative by inefficient policies. If it cannot the NCUI need not exist.