The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday convened a capacity building workshop for Tier 3 and Tier 4 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) of Gujarat at Le Meridien, Ramdev Nagar Cross Road, Ahmedabad.
The full-day event was attended by chairmen, directors and senior management officials, including MDs, audit, compliance and credit heads of select banks.
The workshop began with a welcome address and keynote session, followed by a panel discussion on the “Crucial role of CEOs and Senior Management in UCBs – Way forward.” The session was moderated by the CEO of Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank. Panellists included CEOs of The Kalupur Commercial Cooperative Bank, Ahmedabad Mercantile Cooperative Bank, Prime Cooperative Bank (Surat) and Varachha Cooperative Bank (Surat).
RBI officials including CGM Ranjish, DGM Nitin and Majumdar interacted with participants and shared insights. Post-lunch sessions focused on assurance functions, system and controls including KYC/AML compliance, and enforcement issues, highlighting common grounds for penalties and measures to reduce them.
Talking to Indian Cooperative, one of the participants said, “The sessions were highly insightful, particularly on compliance and risk management. Such direct interaction with RBI officials helps us align our practices with regulatory expectations.
“We often face challenges in interpreting certain regulatory guidelines, and workshops like this provide much-needed clarity. The discussions on assurance functions and enforcement were especially useful, as they highlighted practical steps that banks can adopt to avoid penalties”, the participant added.
Another participant added, “It also gave us a platform to exchange views with fellow co-op bankers, which helps in learning from each other’s experiences. Going forward, we expect more such engagements from the regulator, as they not only strengthen governance but also build confidence among cooperative banks to operate more efficiently in a competitive environment.”
The workshop concluded with a valediction and Q&A, underlining RBI’s thrust on strengthening governance, compliance and professional management in UCBs to meet emerging challenges.
