Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd

Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. is an urban co-operative banking institution, having its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and operating as a co-operative society since 1918.[2] The Founding Members of the society were J.K. Parulkar as chairman, N.B. Thakur as vice-chairman, P.N. Warde as Secretary, and Shivram Gopal Rajadhyaksha as Treasurer.[3]

Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd.
Company typeMulti-State Co-operative Bank
IndustryFinancial services
Founded14 September 1918; 105 years ago (1918-09-14)
HeadquartersSaraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd,
Ekanath Thakur Bhawan 953,
Appasaheb Marathe Marg,
Prabhadevi. Mumbai- 400 025
Key people
ProductsCommercial Banking
Retail Banking
Private Banking
Insurance
RevenueIncrease3,552.58 crore (US$430 million) (2022-23)[1]
Increase355.49 crore (US$43 million) (2022-23)[1]
Total equity3,023.75 crore (US$360 million) (2022-23)[1]
Number of employees
4,650 (as of March 2023) [1]
Websitesaraswatbank.com

In 1988, the bank was conferred with the Scheduled status by the Reserve Bank of India. It is the first co-operative bank to provide merchant banking services. It received a permanent license to deal in foreign exchange in 1979. Presently, it has a correspondent relationship in 58 countries covering nine currencies with over 162 banks.

The bank's total business was approximately ₹4,000 crore in the year 2000, and had reached ₹63,422 crore in 2020.[4]

In the last two decades, the bank has witnessed a steady growth in business and has undertaken several strategic business initiatives, such as business process reengineering, and merging and nurturing seven cooperative banks. The bank has relations with VISA International for the issuance of debit cards. It launched RuPay EMV Debit Card in 2013–14. The bank was the first to achieve this milestone in respect of RuPay EMV cards along with the Bank of Baroda.[citation needed]

In 2011, the bank was granted permission for All India Area of Operation by the Reserve Bank of India.

The bank has a network of 284 fully computerised branches and 311 ATMs (Automated teller machine) as on 31 March 2020[4] covering six states viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and Delhi.

From the annual report for financial year 2020–2021, the bank's business is ₹67,042 crores.[5] [6] It was ranked second-best bank in India by The World's Best Banks 2020 survey[7][8] conducted by the Forbes, an American business magazine.

The Reserve Bank of India had imposed monetary penalties of Rs. 30 Lack in May 2020 for violation of asset classification norms[9], Rs. 25 Lakh in June 2021 for non-compliance with directions on 'Interest Rate on Deposits' and 'Maintenance of Deposit Accounts'[10] [11] .and Rs. 23 Lack in September 2023 on Saraswat Co-operative bank due to contravention of the provisions of the Banking Regulation act and the Central Bank's directions issued on loans and advances to directors, their relatives, and firms/concerns in which they are interested. The bank had renewed a credit facility granted to a borrower company against the RBI's norms, while a director of the bank held the position of an independent director in the borrower company.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2022-2023" (PDF). Saraswat Bank.
  2. ^ "India's leading co-operative bank". Saraswat Bank. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Saraswat Bank achieves its target of 50,000 Cr". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b https://www.saraswatbank.com/Assets/ANNUAL%20REPORT%202020_12112020_1131.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ https://www.saraswatbank.com/Assets/80175_Sarswat%20AR%202020_High%20Resoultion_Website_07092021_0400.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "Saraswat Centenary: Who's who at kick-off event". Indian Cooperative. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "The World's Best Banks 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Forbes Survey: Saraswat Bank beats HDFC, SBI to emerge ahead". Indian Cooperative. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ Ghosh, Sayan (28 May 2020). "RBI imposes fines of Rs6.5 crore on three banks". Mint. Retrieved 7 July 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Co-op banks. RBI imposes monetary penalty on 4 co-operative banks". Business Line. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "RBI imposes penalties on four cooperative banks for non-compliance". Business Today. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2024. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  12. ^ "RBI Imposed Monetary Penalties On Yet Another Three Co-operative Banks". Adda 24x7 Current Affairs. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2024. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)