Explaining the performance of his bank in the financial year, results of which were declared recently, Saraswat Bank Chairman Gautam Thakur said the largest UCB in the country focused more on resilience than on growth in the pandemic years.
It bears recalling that despite a global economic gloom, Saraswat Cooperative Bank has done well by crossing a business mix of Rs 71,500 crore and earning a net profit of Rs 275 crore in the 2021-22 financial year.
Saraswat Bank performed well on all financial parameters even in adverse market conditions. The figures have been revealed in the annual report published recently. The Bank held its Board meeting last Friday.
“It is your resilience which makes you survive in tough phases of the bank history”, said Thakur underlining that any organization can do well in good times but the strength of a sound organization is tested during the lean phases.
“Like others, we also sent many petitions to RBI for allowing us an expansion of business through opening of new branches. But one fine morning I realized that lack of permission from RBI should not make us a weeping cow and we should look beyond this”, said Thakur in an unstructured interview.
Thakur further said “Having roots in agriculture most of us know that our grand or great grandfathers did not stop working when the rains would not happen. They would find a way and help themselves and the family survive. I also turned inwards and began to think what best can we do in the given situation”, stated the Chairman.
Within the five years of this change in our mindset, we have nearly doubled our retail business from Rs 7000 crore to 15 thousand crores; that too without adding a single staff and without opening a single new branch”, said Thakur stressing the power of positive thinking.
The pandemic years also helped us focus on the basics and we worked hard on three factors vigorously— Risk Management, Compliance and Audit. Calling the crucial troika as constituting the Central Nervous System (CNS) of banking, Thakur said that it is imperative for all banks to lay special focus on these issues.
As a body can brave the worst of storms if the central nervous system is working fine, similarly a bank can face any crisis-pandemic or anything else, if it has a robust system of Risk Management, Compliance and Audit, underlined the Chairman.
Thakur also informed that the Saraswat Bank is going to hold its AGM on 27th June where it is likely to make some startling disclosures regarding its future plan. “Don’t worry you would be the first to know about them”, said Thakur without disclosing his plan.
Thakur also sounded enthusiastic regarding participating in the upcoming meeting of UCBs with Union Minister Amit Shah on 23rd June at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. Being organized by NAFCUB, the sessions are going to be brainstorming with a focus on the future for UCBs, confirmed Jyotindra Mehta, Nafcub President to Indian Cooperative.
