Sahakar Bharati: Prabhu meets ace cooperator of Mumbai

Sahakar Bharati organized a high-voltage interaction between top line of cooperators of scheduled urban cooperative banks and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in Bandra, Mumbai on Wednesday in which issues and challenges being faced by these UCBs came up for sharp discussion. If the cooperators spoke their heart out, the Minister also did not mince his words while advising them to adopt technology or perish.

Sharing the details of the meeting with this correspondent on the phone, Sahakar Bharati Chairman Jyotindrabhai Mehta said “Suresh Prabhu is a man who started his career with cooperatives and knows the cooperative world well. Being the former Chairman of the largest coop bank of India Saraswat Bank for a long time”, Prabhu knows the sector few could match”.

“Some of the issues discussed in the meeting included “Adoption of new Technology in banking activities. We told the minister that Reserve Bank of India should give permission to UCBs in the field of Internet Banking”, Mehta underlined.

Speaking on the occasion Suresh Prabhu said Urban Cooperative Banks should adopt digital transactions and high-end technological tools at a much faster pace to compete with commercial and private banks.

Besides his advice Prabhu- a veteran cooperator also promised to talk to RBI Governor Urjit Patel and other concerned authorities including Union Finance Minister in this regard, Mehta said to this correspondent on the phone.

”The minister also suggested urban cooperative banks should broaden their outreach work explaining benefits they could offer to their clients.” Mehta added.

Soon after the meeting Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted that “Pleasure meeting the representatives of Scheduled Urban Co operative Banks in Mumbai, discussed a wide range of issues.”

In another tweet he wrote “Sh @sureshpprabhu @RailMinIndia addressed the delegates of about 70 Scheduled Urban Co operative Banks & also gave hearing to their issues”.

The meeting lasted two hours where chairmen and MDs of Urban Cooperative Bank frankly shared their views and put their suggestions on the table.

P.Kondurkar, CEO of Apna Sahakari Bank said “We have talked on several issues including RBI extending the home loan limit from 70 lakh, the government money be kept in coop banks, repayment of housing loan period be extended from 25 to 30 years, Nominal Member loan limit be extended etc. “.

Gautam Thakur, Chairman, Saraswat Cooperative Bank, a busy man otherwise also found time to attend the interaction. “Since he is one among us it was natural for me to attend his session. Even otherwise I regularly talk to him and seek his advice on several issues; he is like a family for us at Saraswat Bank,” said the young Chairman Gautam Thakur of Saraswat Cooperative Bank.

Some others present on the occasion included Satish Marathe, Patron, Sahakar Bharti, Urban Bank Cell in-Charge, Vidyadhar Vaishampayan, Dattaram Chalke, Chairman, Apna Sahakari bank, and about 70 representatives from Scheduled Urban Cooperative Banks.

Marathe was one of the firsts to inform about the said meeting with the Minister well in advance on the social media.