The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) released its 62nd Annual Report on Wednesday, highlighting that it settled claims amounting to Rs 1,436.92 crore for cooperative banks during the fiscal year 2023-24. This amount represents a significant increase from the Rs 751.78 crore settled in the previous year (2022-23).
“The Corporation settled claims totaling Rs 1,436.92 crore to insured depositors of liquidated banks, merged banks, and those placed under All-Inclusive Directions (AID),” the report stated.
Of this amount, Rs 175.71 crore (including Rs 3.29 crore linked to the amalgamation of PMC Bank with Unity Small Finance Bank) was related to claims from liquidated and merged banks, while Rs 1,261.21 crore covered claims from banks placed under AID.
During the year, DICGC collected Rs 1,336 crore in premium payments from cooperative banks and Rs 22,543 crore from commercial banks, including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Local Area Banks (LABs).
The total premium received by the Corporation during 2023-24 amounted to Rs 23,879 crore, with commercial banks contributing 94.40% and cooperative banks 5.60%.
Additionally, 30 cooperative banks were deregistered during the year, 24 of which triggered the Corporation’s liability. Insured entities now include 140 commercial banks and 1,857 cooperative banks, consisting of 1,472 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), 352 District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), and 33 State Cooperative Banks (STCBs).
As of March 31, 2024, these cooperative banks had insured deposits worth Rs 7,44,457 crore and assessable deposits totalling Rs 11,77,122 crore.
The report further noted that all eligible cooperative banks, as defined under Section 2(gg) of the DICGC Act, are covered under the Deposit Insurance Scheme. This includes State, District Central, and Primary Cooperative Banks across India.
The States and Union Territories (UTs) have amended their Cooperative Societies Acts to align with the DICGC Act, empowering the RBI to supersede the management committees of cooperative banks and requiring RBI approval for any winding-up, amalgamation, or reconstruction actions.
Currently, all cooperative banks are covered under the DICGC Scheme, except for the UTs of Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Ladakh, which do not have any registered or insured cooperative banks.