At last, a roadmap is all set to offer Kerala a two-tier Kerala Cooperative Bank (KCB) that would make banking operations easy and accessible for all in the state, reports Hindu.
According to a ballpark estimate, the proposed two-tier bank with 5,500 touch points and 6,000 branches is likely to do business worth Rs 3,00000 crore in the first year itself.
After submitting the report, chairman of the committee constituted by the government for studying the project MS Sriram said the 1,625 Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies (PACS) would become the fulcrum of the new structure.
As per an ordinance promulgated by the state govt the director boards of 14 district cooperative banks would stand dissolved, he said.
The PACS would continue their current banking operations and the KCB would focus on value-added services and specialized banking products. The bank would refrain from levying charges on services, and issue credit and debit cards to members of societies.
The Sriram committee has recommended the setting up of a Kerala State Financial Sector Regulatory Authority. The authority is one of the safeguards mooted to assure the RBI that the new bank would be functioning within a proper regulatory framework.