In a significant step toward revival, the Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha (SGRSBN), a Bengaluru-based Urban Cooperative Bank under the Reserve Bank of India’s All-Inclusive Directions (AID) since January 2020, has invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eligible entities to take over and revive the crisis-hit institution.
According to the EOI released on November 3, 2025, the bank is seeking proposals from financial institutions, NBFCs, microfinance firms, fintech companies, cooperative societies, trusts, and individuals or professionals interested in leading its turnaround. The deadline for submission of EOIs is December 3, 2025, while pre-submission meetings and due diligence have been scheduled between November 10 and November 25, 2025.
Once a flourishing cooperative with eight branches and a business mix of Rs 3,979 crore as of March 2019, the bank’s fortunes declined sharply following RBI’s inspection in 2019–20, which uncovered serious governance failures and fraudulent lending practices. Consequently, the RBI imposed restrictions under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and subsequently superseded the bank’s board.
The bank’s current Administrator, Ajit Krishnan Nair, said the revival plan aims to attract investors capable of infusing sufficient capital to restore the bank’s net worth and bring it back into regulatory compliance. “The revival proposal also considers converting deposit liabilities into capital instruments and exploring merger possibilities or conversion into a Small Finance Bank, subject to RBI approval,” Nair stated.
As per the EOI document, SGRSBN’s accumulated losses stood at Rs 2,268 crore as of March 31, 2025, while deposits totaled Rs 1,940 crore from nearly 38,000 depositors. The bank has already repaid Rs 714 crore through DICGC insurance claims and an additional Rs 207 crore from its own resources.
Despite its financial challenges, the bank retains assets worth Rs 30 crore in Bengaluru and liquidity of Rs 571 crore as of September 2025. Encouragingly, both the United Forum of Individual Depositors and several cooperative depositors have expressed willingness to forgo up to 30% of their dues to enable the bank’s revival.
Interested bidders can access the detailed EOI document on the bank’s website www.raghavendrabank.com or contact the Administrator at administrator@raghavendrabank.com.
The move marks a crucial attempt to restore depositor confidence and bring back to life the 26-year-old cooperative bank, which once stood as one of Karnataka’s leading urban cooperative institutions.