The New India Cooperative Bank announced its shareholders have approved a proposal to convert the bank into a small finance bank. The decision comes in the wake of several regulatory changes announced by the RBI, including Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks into Small Finance Banks. The bank’s shareholders passed the resolution at a special general body meeting. the bank will now approach the RBI and Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for further action. Hiren Bhanu, vice chairman of the bank, said the bank has a net worth of Rs 230 crore as compared to Rs 200 crore required under the RBI regulation. It is also one of the few cooperative banks, whose NPAs are less than 0.5% and capital adequacy of over 12%. It is a multi-state cooperative bank operating in Maharashtra and Gujarat and has a strong technological infrastructure. Meanwhile, Shivalik Mercantile Cooperative Bank of Uttar Pradesh became the first cooperative bank in the country to obtain in-principle approval from the RBI to covert itself into a small finance Bank. The bank has 31 branches across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
