Senior cooperator who also happens to be a Minister in the Karnataka govt H K Patil was unsparing in his speech made on the occasion of the 40th NAFCUB AGM. He questioned the need to have a huge real estate building for RBI in Mumbai if the regulator is so concerned with the issue of non-banking assets.
“Agreed UCB should not invest in non-banking assets; may I ask what is the need for RBI to have such a huge non-banking asset in Mumbai?, he asked to the amusement of delegates who had come from different parts of the country.
RBI came much after urban cooperative banks. According to Gujarat history we had first UCB in 1889 while RBI came in 1966.In the beginning RBI exhorted us to get license and in fact several banks got it without making any formal request, Patil said.
But RBI’s role underwent a sea change as soon as it saw us emerging strong and a threat to the commercial banks, he said.
Exposing the double standards of RBI vis a vis UCBs Patil said grant of new licenses for UCBs has been stopped and the conditions of doing business have been made extremely stringent for us. “You cannot even buy computer without regulator’s permission, forget about opening ATM or new branch”, Patil said.
Who lent to Mallaya or for that matter to Harshad Mehta?, he asked exposing the duplicity of RBI and PSU banks.
Patil demanded that Rs one lakh crore of UCB’s money locked in SLR and being used by govt must be freed. He also exposed the double standards of RBI in the matter of NPA between co-op banks and PSUs.
Mehta is sounding defensive; there is no need ; in fact we need to raise our voice and demand what is due to us, Patil was unsparing.
We had enough of pin-pricks and a time has come when we have to raise our voice, Patil said while admitting some officials of RBI have been friendly to UCBs of late.
