On the cards: A people-friendly bank for Kerala

The study report for the proposed Kerala Cooperative Bank was handed over to CM Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. It will be formed by merging state and district co-operative banks.

What Professor M S Sriram of who chairs the committee has to say:

The bank will not fleece customers

Product charges cannot be avoided but customers will not be asked to pay many service charges as done by commercial banks. 

The bank will be customer-centred.

Professor M S Sriram,
IIM Bangalore

Major recommendations: 

  • Form a Kerala State Financial Regulatory Authority covering all cooperative institutions engaged in financial ops and not coming under RBI monitoring. 
  • All procedures, including enacting  legislation and obtaining RBI nod to be completed in six quarters.
  • KCB will not compete with primary agricultural cooperative societies, instead will strengthen them by providing technological support and enabling them to provide modern banking products. 

Panel members

Additional chief secretary V S Senthil, former Nabard CGM C P Mohan, former GM of Union Bank T P Balakrishnan and Cooperation Department special secretary P Venugopal.

  • Capital of PACS to be merged with that of KCB. 
  • Statutory reserves of district cooperative banks will be considered shares of member PACS. 
  • Major owner of KCB will be PACS but membership will be given to other cooperative societies as well. 

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