A well-known face in the cooperative banking sector Atul Khirwadkar has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban Co-operative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC), an NBFC, which will act as a catalyst for all Urban Cooperative Banks of the country.
He will be relieved as the MD & CEO of Kalyan Janata Sahakari Bank on 16th May 2023 i.e today for undertaking the new responsibility.
A jubilant Khirwadkar, talking to the Indian Cooperative said, “It’s a proud moment for me because I am joining as the CEO of NUCFDC. This organization has been termed as the ‘Umbrella Organization’. I received the communication last month and now my bank is ready to relieve me”, he said.
Khirwadkar has been into banking for over 43 years and of which he has 15 years’ experience at Public Sector Banks and 28 years in Cooperative Banking. He has been one of the principal resource persons for BANCO for the last 10 years.
He has been MD and CEO of a leading Multi-State Scheduled Cooperative bank for the last 14 years, which has a business of Rs 6000 crore. He has been helping the sector in ensuring compliance with regulatory norms. He recently appeared before the Joint Parliamentary committee to present his views on proposed amendments to the Multi State Cooperative Act.
Meanwhile, in his reaction, NUCFDC Chairman Jyotindra Mehta said, “Yes, Atul Khirwadkar Ji, who has vast knowledge about the cooperative banking sector, is going to take charge as the first CEO of NUCFDC. All the formalities have been done, now we will apply for the license”, he added.
It bears recalling that the national level Umbrella Organisation (UO) is expected to provide liquidity and capital support to member co-operative banks. Besides, in times of rising cyber frauds, UO would also offer cutting edge technology to its members who, due to their small size, can hardly afford the same on their own.
The UO will have an authorised capital of Rs 500 crore. Initial issued and paid up capital will be Rs 300 crore. The Steering Committee recommended that if each UCB contributes Rs 0.10 per every Rs 100 of assets, the above amount of Rs 300 crore can be contributed to the capital of the UO by all the UCBs.
Nafcub has been able to secure a share of Rs 200 crore from the NCDC for the UO, which is seen as a big victory. RBI is watching the response of UCBs to the idea, said senior co-operators.
In recent times Nafcub has been in overdrive to see the dream of UO translate into reality. In the last few months it held more than 20 meetings on the conceptualization of the Umbrella Organization and even got it registered.