It is remarkable that Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank has become the first cooperative bank in India to have got the nod from the state cabinet for allowing the bank to engage in banking transactions with the state government and its agencies.
Buoyed with the news, talking to the Indian Cooperative Vidyadhar Anaskar, Chairman of MSCB’s administrative board said, “We are happy with the decision of the state cabinet led by the State Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The cooperative movement of the state will certainly strengthen with this decision”, said Anaskar.
“Now, the big temple trusts like Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, government undertakings and others will be able to park their money and do all banking transactions with the MSC Bank. Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank is giving higher interest in comparison to other banks”, Anaskar underlined.
Besides, in India no cooperative banks have been able to surpass the 4000 crore net worth benchmark. For the previous 11 years, MSC Bank has consistently received an “A” rating in its audit reports, stated Anaskar.
The bank’s capital capacity ratio (CRAR) is 18.4%, which is greater than the 9% RBI-mandated minimum norms. Over the past two years, the bank has made a net profit of 600 crore. The bank has obtained ISO 27001:2013 certification in information security management for the first time, Anaskar added.
It bears recall that at the cabinet meeting presided over by state chief minister Eknath Shinde, the decision enabled Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank to engage in government office banking transactions and public enterprise corporations, as recommended by the Finance Department of the Government.
Readers would recall that in a recently held meeting with the Union Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Gyanesh Kumar, Anaskar advocated for advising all the state governments to invest some portion of their funds in the well managed apex cooperative banks. It can be done by designing suitable eligibility criteria such as net worth, CRAR, Net NPA etc.
MSC bank achieved a total business of Rs 45,064 crore in the 2022-23 financial year.