In a statement the apex body of UCBs and credit societies NAFCUB has batted for the co-op character of co-op banking and said there is a difference between banking companies and cooperative banking.
The ambiguous statement neither hails nor assails the passage of the Banking Regulation Amendment Bill by the Parliament on Tuesday. Instead the statement reads “ The Ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act 1949 which the Government has promulgated, seeks to impose provisions of regulations applicable to banking companies to regulate cooperative banks.
The National Federation demands continuation and protection of cooperative character of cooperative banks, their democratic control and autonomous functioning; the “one member one vote” principle and compatibility with the 97th Amendment of Constitution, at all times, by the Regulator.
Cooperative banks have been in existence for well over a century and have been serving less privileged sections of society with distinction as cooperatives. They value the sanctity of their cooperative identity that binds them to grass roots and will not like to compromise to accept any move that may undermine their values, reads the statement.
NACUB also strongly desires that RBI in its regulation of cooperative banks should ensure discontinuation of all the moves to privatise cooperative banks; not to undermine the continued existence of small urban banks through any process of compulsory consolidation and providing level playing field for cooperative banks with commercial banks, in banking operations.
The statement is signed by all the top Nafcub leaders including H K Patil, Jyotindra Mehta, K K Sharma, V V Anaskar, A M Hindasgeri, G Ramamoorthy and Laxmi Das.