The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Urban cooperative banks appeal for help

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Urban cooperative banks appeal for help

By Our Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM, OCT. 10. The Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Urban Banks Federation has urged the Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be sympathetic towards cooperative banks, which, they said, alone functioned in strict adherence to Government policies.

Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, the president of the federation, G. Rama Moorthy, said urban banks were lending 60 per cent to the priority sector, compared to commercial banks, which provided 40 per cent.

Urban banks gave 20 per cent loans to the weaker sections and followed all the directions of the Government, "as a rule," he said.

"But the Government is of little help to us. While it lends crores of rupees to the District Cooperative Banks and helps amalgamations or mergers of commercial banks during a crisis, it is apathetic to our problems. On the other hand, it wants us to rise to international standards overnight," he said.

Demands

He wanted the RBI to continue the 180 days' NPA norm till cooperative banks were in a position to implement international standards of banking. It should also take the March 31 position for gradation of cooperative banks and not conduct inspections whenever it liked, he said.

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