3. DEFINITION OF CO-OPERATIVE BANKS
A co-operative bank is a financial entity which belongs to its
members, who are at the same time the owners and the
customers of their bank. Co-operative banks are often created by
persons belonging to the same local or professional community or
sharing a common interest. Co-operative banks generally provide
their members with a wide range of banking and financial services
(loans, deposits, banking accounts…). Co-operative banks differ
from stockholder banks by their organization, their goals, their
values and their governance. In most countries, they are
supervised and controlled by banking authorities and have to
respect prudential banking regulations, which put them at a level
playing field with stockholder banks. Depending on countries, this
control and supervision can be implemented directly by state
entities or delegated to a co-operative federation or central body.
4. All the cooperative banks share common features :
• Customer-owned entities: In a co-operative bank, the needs of the
customers meet the needs of the owners, as co-operative bank
members are both. As a consequence, the first aim of a co-operative
bank is not to maximise profit but to provide the best possible
products and services to its members. Some co-operative banks only
operate with their members but most of them also admit non-member
clients to benefit from their banking and financial services.
• Democratic member control: Co-operative banks are owned and
controlled by their members, who democratically elect the board of
directors. Members usually have equal voting rights, according to the
co-operative principle of “one person, one vote”.
• Profit allocation: In a co-operative bank, a significant part of the
yearly profit, benefits or surplus is usually allocated to constitute
reserves. A part of this profit can also be distributed to the co-
operative members, with legal or statutory limitations in most cases.
Profit is usually allocated to members either through a patronage
dividend, which is related to the use of the co-operative’s products
and services by each member, or through an interest or a dividend,
which is related to the number of shares subscribed by each member.
5. HISTORY
The Bank was formed in 1872 as the Loan and Deposit Department
of Manchester's Co-operative Wholesale Society, becoming the CWS
Bank four years later. However, the bank did not become a registered
company until 1971. In 1975, the bank became the first new member
of the Committee of London Clearing Banks for 40 years, and thus able
to issue its own cheques. Since 1974 the Co-operative Bank has
consistently offered free banking for personal customers who remain
in credit. It was also the first Clearing Bank to offer an interest bearing
cheque account called Cheque & Save, in 1982. In 1991 the Bank
shook the credit card market when it introduced a guaranteed "free
for life" Gold Visa card.
The Co-operative banks in INDIA have a history of almost 100
years. The Co-operative banks are an important constituent of the
Indian Financial System, judging by the role assigned to them, the
expectations they are supposed to fulfil, their number, and the
number of offices they operate. The co-operative movement
originated in the West, but the importance that such banks have
assumed in India is rarely paralleled anywhere else in the world. Their
role in rural financing continues to be important even today, and their
business in the urban areas also has increased phenomenally in recent
years mainly due to the sharp increase in the number of primary co-
operative banks. Co operative Banks in India are registered under the
Co-operative Societies Act. The cooperative bank is also regulated by
the RBI. They are governed by the Banking Regulations Act 1949 and
Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1965.
6. Establishment of Cooperative Banks in India
INTRODUCTION
Co-operative movement is quite well established in India. The first
legislation on co-operation was passed in 1904. In 1914 the Maclagen
committee envisaged a three tier structure for co-operative banking
viz. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACs) at the grass root level,
Central Co-operative Banks at the district level and State Co-operative
Banks at state level or Apex Level. The first urban co-operative bank in
India was formed nearly 100 years back in Baroda.
The co-operative banks arrived in India in the beginning of 20th
Century as an official effort to create a new type of institution based
on the principles of co-operative organisation and management,
suitable for problems peculiar to Indian conditions. These banks were
conceived as substitutes for money lenders, to provide timely and
adequate short-term and long-term institutional credit at reasonable
rates of interest.
In the formative stage Co-operative Banks were Urban Co-
operative Societies run on community basis and their lending activities
were restricted to meeting the credit requirements of their members.
The concept of Urban Co-operative Bank was first spelt out by Mehta
Bhansali Committee in 1939 which defined on Urban Co-operative
Bank. Provisions of Section 5 (CCV) of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (as
applicable to Co-operative Societies) defined an Urban Co-operative
Bank as a Primary Co-operative Bank other than a Primary Co-
operative Society was made applicable in 1966.
7. MAIN FUNCTIONS OF COOPERATIVE BANKS
1. Co-operative Banks are organised and managed on the principal of co-
operation, self-help, and mutual help. They function with the rule of
"one member, one vote" function on "no profit, no loss" basis. Co-
operative banks, as a principle, do not pursue the goal of profit
maximisation. Co-operative bank performs all the main banking
functions of deposit mobilisation, supply of credit and provision of
remittance facilities. Co-operative Banks provide limited banking
products and are functionally specialists in agriculture related products.
However, co-operative banks now provide housing loans also. UCBs
provide working capital loans and term loan as well.
2. Co-operative bank do banking business mainly in the agriculture and
rural sector. However, UCBs, SCBs, and CCBs operate in semi urban,
urban, and metropolitan areas also. The urban and non-agricultural
business of these banks has grown over the years. The co-operative
banks demonstrate a shift from rural to urban, while the commercial
banks, from urban to rural. Co-operative Banks belong to the money
market as well as to the capital market. Primary agricultural credit
societies provide short term and medium term loans.
3. Cooperative banks in India finance rural areas under:
· Farming
· Cattle
· Milk
· Hatchery
· Personal finance
4. Cooperative banks in India finance urban areas under:
· Self-employment
· Industries
· Small scale units
· Home finance
· Consumer finance
· Personal finance
8. Co-operative Banks Types:
There are two types of co-operative banks in INDIA.
1. The first is the short term lending oriented Co-operative Banks. In
this category there are again three sub categories of banks which
are the State Co-operative banks, District Co-operative banks and
the Primary Agricultural Co-operative societies.
2. The second is the long term lending oriented Co-operative banks. In
this second category there are land developments banks which are
at three levels. First is the state level, the second is district level,
and the third is the village level.
Again the Co-operative banking structure in India is divided into five
main categories and these categories are:
1. Primary Urban Co-operative Banks.
2. Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
3. District Central Co-operative Banks.
4. State Co-operative Banks.
5. Land Development Banks.
It is very much clear that co-operative banks have very much
importance in national development. Without the help of co-operative
banks, millions of people in INDIA would be lacking the much needed
financial support.
9. CLASSIFICATION OF COOPERATIVE BANKS
Some co-operative banks are scheduled banks, while others are non-
scheduled banks. For instance, SCBs and some UCBs are scheduled
banks but other co-operative banks are non-scheduled banks. At
present, 28 SCBs and 11 UCBs with Demand and Time Liabilities over
Rs 50 crore each included in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank
of India Act.
Co-operative Banks are subject to CRR and liquidity requirements as
other scheduled and non-scheduled banks are. However, their
requirements are less than commercial banks.
Sr.No. Category of Minimum SLR holding in Government and
bank other approved securities as percentage of
Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL)
1. Scheduled 25%
banks
2. Non-
Scheduled
banks
a) with NDTL 15%
of Rs.25 crore
& above
b) with NDTL 10%
of less than
Rs.25 crore
10. Recent Developments
Over the years, primary (urban) cooperative banks have registered a
significant growth in number, size and volume of business handled. As
on 31st March, 2003 there were 2,104 UCBs of which 56 were
scheduled banks. About 79 percent of these are located in five states, -
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Recently the problems faced by a few large UCBs have highlighted
some of the difficulties these banks face and policy endeavours are
geared to consolidating and strengthening this sector and improving
governance.
11. There are more than total 297 co-operative banks in
INDIA
IN STATES
Andhra Pradesh 24
Assam 1
Bihar 24
Chhattisgarh 1
Goa 11
Gujarat 21
Haryana 1
Himachal Pradesh 3
Jammu and Kashmir 2
Karnataka 8
Kerala 43
Madhya Pradesh 35
Maharashtra 67
Meghalaya 5
Orissa 2
Rajasthan 13
Tripura 1
12. Tamil Nadu 2
Uttarakhand 1
Uttar Pradesh 8
West Bengal 14
IN UNION TERRITOREIS
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2
Chandigarh 2
Pondicherry 6
13. Amyn K
Charaniya
283065
Rashesh Jigar Lathia
Sheth 283087
283113
Submitted
Abizer A By: Malcolm
Sabuwala Mascarenhas
283105 283092
Jaydeep K
Binay Roy
Mehta
283104
283094
