Urban Cooperative Banks run on its own strength and it has been characterized so well by Sadanand Krishna Nayak, CEO of Gopinath Patil Parsik Janta Sahakari Bank based in Thane in Maharashtra.
Talking to Indiancooperative.com correspondent, Nayak says ” We do not want any support from the govt. We wish to stand on our feet as the cooperative movement is defined by its autonomy”.
He said all UCBs are functioning without any govt support and it proves the strength of the cooperative movement in the country.
Gopinath Patil Parsik Janata Sahakari Bank was established in 1972 in a remote village in Kalwa, Maharashtra under the leadership of Late Gopinath Shivram Patil.
With a view to providing financial assistance, generating employment and means of livelihood, Late Gopinathdada Shivram Patil along with a group of youngsters of Kalwa village took the initiative to form Urban Co-operative Bank, said the CEO recalling the history of the bank.
Ganesh Lokhanday a depositor of the bank who works as a taxi driver said “I feel proud as I am holding an account with this bank for more than 15 years and I am really overwhelmed by the services given by the bank”.
“I am CEO of the bank from 2013 and under my tenure the bank has got multi scheduled status. I have a vision 2020 to open more than 100 branches with a business mix of 10 thousand crore, said bank CEO proudly.
The bank earned a net profit of Rs 47 crore in the last financial year. The bank has 75 branches equipped with ATMs facilities. There are 88 thousand members associated with the bank receiving 15 percent dividend each year from the bank.
The CEO called for removal of Income tax burden from the cooperative sector as cooperative bodies do not have scope for increasing their capital. The government should seriously consider giving concession in this regard, he averred.
When this correspondent wanted to know the impact of demonetization on the bank he said ” It did pose the challenge of shortage of new currency but we tackled it in a manner that our customers were not unhappy with us. ” It’s a matter of relationship and trust”, he underlined.
