PANAJI
The Goa State Co-operative Bank (GSCB) on Sunday unanimously resolved to bifurcate the Daman and Diu branches of the bank.
The decision was taken at the special general body meeting, which was chaired by Chairman Ulhas Phaldessai. Bank vice chairman A M S D'Silva, Directors Krishna Kudnekar, Baburao Dessai, Premanand Chawdikar, Director of Daman and Diu Mohan Tandel, Ramesh Bamania, besides other directors were present at the meeting.
The decision to bifurcate comes in the wake of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ultimatum of December 31.
An estimated 23 per cent deposits of GSCB will go to the new co-operative bank. This means that both the banks will find it difficult initially as GSCB will lose a portion of its deposits. The division will come into effect from the next financial year -- April 1, 2016.
The Goa State Cooperative Bank will keep this money with them and will give interest little more than the interest given by nationalised banks. However, the Daman and Diu division has been given the right to withdraw this money whenever it wants.
“There are at least 20 other bank branches in Daman and Diu, but people prefer Goa State Cooperative Bank. Henceforth, the bank will now be called 'Daman and Diu State Cooperative Bank Ltd'” informed Ramesh Bamania after the general body meeting.
The Goa State Cooperative Bank has 59 branches in Goa and nine in Daman and Diu. The bank has deposits of Rs 1770.92 crore, out of which the Goa division has Rs 1354.87 crore and Daman and Diu division has Rs 416.05 crore.
The bank has given credit loan of Rs 1199.19 crore. In Goa, the bank has given loan of Rs 1022.99 crore and Daman and Diu area Rs 176.19 crore.
The Goa State Cooperative Bank was established on November 7, 1963 at a time when Goa, Daman and Diu was an Union territory. In 1988, the bank got the status of a multi-State bank while in 1994 it got the scheduled status.
Since the bank had presence, through its branches, in more than one State it came within the ambit of a multi-state co-operative bank. Multi-state co-operative bank are under a central registrar while State co-operative banks are under a State registrar.
Apart from being a multi-State co-operative bank, GSCB is also the apex bank for Goa, which means it has the status of a federation for all co-operative entities within the State of Goa.
Vinayak Narvekar, a former director of GSCB while speaking to The Goan said, “As per RBI norms, a co-operative bank can’t be both a multi-state co-operative bank and an apex bank. The RBI had given GSCB an ultimatum to choose which status it would prefer between these two by December 31.”
“The bifurcation also means that GSCB will remain as apex bank for Goa, but all its branches outside Goa in Daman and Diu will cease to be its branches and will be constituted as a separate entity, he said.
In practical terms, a resident in Goa who till recently was a shareholder of GSCB was naturally a stakeholder in Daman & Diu business as well. But, with the latest bifurcation, he will not have any stake in the newly formed Daman and Diu co-operative bank.
