INDEX

1.DEFINITION

2.FEATURES

3.HISTORY

4.ESTABLISHMENT

5.FUNCTIONS

6.TYPES

7.CLASSIFICATION

8.RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 bank

Minimum SLR holding in Government and other approved securities as percentage of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL)

1. Scheduled banks

25%

2. Non-Scheduled banksa) with NDTL of Rs.25 crore & above b) with NDTL of less than Rs.25 crore

15%

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.

There are more than total 297 co-operative banks in INDIA

IN STATESAndhra Pradesh 24Assam 1Bihar 24Chhattisgarh 1Goa 11Gujarat 21Haryana 1Himachal Pradesh 3Jammu and Kashmir 2Karnataka 8Kerala 43Madhya Pradesh 35Maharashtra 67Meghalaya 5Orissa 2Rajasthan 13Tripura 1Tamil Nadu 2

Uttarakhand 1Uttar Pradesh 8West Bengal 14

IN UNION TERRITOREISAndaman and Nicobar Islands 2Chandigarh 2Pondicherry 6

Rashesh Sheth

283113

Abizer A Sabuwala

283105

Binay Roy

283104

Jaydeep K Mehta

283094

Malcolm Mascarenhas

283092

Jigar Lathia

283087

Amyn K Charaniya

283065

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