Chairman of Udhamsingh Nagar Cooperative Bank Subash Behar is a worried man as two Nabard officials and one RBI representative have begun a probe in the deposits made in the first 3-4 days of demonetization in his bank.
Talking to this correspondent Behar said our branches are core-banking and compliant with all the RBI’s guidelines such as KYCs etc. And in the four days what was deposited was a mere Rs 28 crores rupees by those genuine customers who had money in higher denomination. The probe will lead them nowhere but would certainly demoralize the staff as well as cast doubts in the mind of customers, he stated.
With 29 branches in Rudrapur this DCCB was indeed doing brisk business so far. “I am scared of the negative perception due to the govt action in the wake of demonetization. First co-op banks were allowed to exchange notes; then after 3 days they were barred; yet again they were asked not to take deposits and finally the cash coming to them from the chest is a woefully meager conveying an impression that we are shortly going out of business’’, an anguished Chairman said.
“The long term damage includes destroying the rural credit structure built with such great efforts in the past. Co-op banks are lone agencies farmers approach for financial help, destroying them is a tough choice”, Behar cautioned the govt.