41st AGM: Headless Nafcub tries to look bold

The apex body of more than 1500 urban cooperative banks in the country NAFCUB held its 41st AGM this Sunday at the NCUI auditorium in Delhi. While its Vice-President R B Shandilya was happy to inform an increase in the profit of the Federation he had no words to offer on the current impasse in the Federation. Presently, the cooperative body is without a head.

Delegates after delegates lamented the lack of consensus among the Board of Directors in thrashing out the issue of President-ship between Jyotindra Mehta and Mukund Abhyankar. Some of them even wondered if the leaders cannot settle their differences, how can they help needy members.

Janardan J Ranadive of Pune People Bank said it was unfortunate that the senior leaders have failed to resolve the issue of leadership. “I hope the Board will show a way out”, he added. When Indian Cooperative raised the issue before the senior most Board member of NAFCUB H K Patil he was evasive and said “who says there is no president, we have a competent officiating President in Shandilaya.”

But the absence of a regular President did not stop delegates from voicing their concerns on several issues related to urban cooperative banks in the country. If Er Avinash Kothale of Amravati lamented the compulsion of blocking UCB’s fund in unattractive govt securities, Abdul Jeelan Shaik said Nafcub should make renewed efforts to get IT and TDS exemption.

Representatives of credit cooperatives said the RBI guidelines and circular never reached credit co-ops during demonetization and they were left in the lurch. It was odd that after the year 2002 no new banks or credit co-ops even with large operations could qualify for the RBI license.

While Shandilya made the Presidential speech, CE Subhas Gupta read out the agenda which was passed by a voice-vote. H K Patil made a brief speech and asked everybody to stand in the memory of senior cooperator Shivajirao Patil and pray for the peace of the departed soul. Shivajirao Patil had breathed his last recently.

Jyotindra Mehta the star speaker expounded at length on the merits of Umbrella organization for Nafcub. Mehta said it is useful for both small and large banks. Quoting experiences of USA and Europe Mehta said most of our issues with RBI would vanish if we have an Umbrella bank which would control us as well as be controlled by us.

If the issue of large UCBs would go so would the issues of technology and security of small UCBs could be addressed by this, he added. He expressed satisfaction that the RBI looked inclined to the idea.

Nafcub Director and Vice-President V N Anaskar also got a resolution passed in the AGM which included several issues including a review of Tafcub mechanism, constitution of an appellate authority in RBI, among other things.

Some of the delegates raised the issue of the rising cost of Nafcub and felt that more than 70 per cent expenses are salaries and administrative costs. “Where is the members’ interest in your scheme of things”, they asked rather bluntly.

The AGM was however unrepresented in many ways as several leading urban cooperative banks in the country did not participate in the show. If the numero uno of UCBs- Saraswat Bank did not evince much interest in its activities, Cosmos Bank’s Mukund Abhyankar who was present, looked uninterested in the proceedings. Even SVC Bank-the third largest had no notable participation.