Repayment tardy, Baghat bank customers to stage protest on December 18

With the tardy pace of loan repayment offering little hope to the depositors of financially strained Baghat Urban Cooperative Bank here, the shareholders and customers have decided to hold a demonstration outside the bank on December 18. This decision was taken at a meeting in which the shareholders and customers flayed lack of action against the defaulters, besides the tardy pace of taking into possession properties of politically connected defaulters.

They also demanded to make public the list of defaulters, who owed Rs 125 crore to force them to repay their loans. There were at least 30 defaulters who owned more than Rs 1 crore. The gathering also flayed the attempt of four bank officials to seek voluntary retirement in a bid to escape punitive action and said that their role should be probed by the vigilance.

With the state government failing to restore the confidence of the depositors, it was also decided to knock the doors of the Central Cooperatives Ministry and apprise the officials about the irregularities which they termed as an act of corruption of public money. The depositors alleged that the officials desisted from acting against the defaulters, who siphoned off loans to favourites.

In another move, the bank management tried to restore the confidence of the depositors by revealing the financial situation of the bank. Bank director Krishan Grover stated that the NPA, which was Rs 138 crore when Asset Impairment Declaration was implemented, had decreased to Rs 125 crore in two months.

Though the bank management has requested the state government to make financial infusion of Rs 50 crore in the bank’s account in view of its grim financial condition, its request was yet to be acceded to.

“Several measures like marginal reduction in the salaries of the bank staff have been taken to improve the bank’s financial condition. Even in the worst scenario, if the bank faces closure, it has adequate funds to cope with its liabilities which stand at Rs 488 crore while its assets were Rs 529 crore,” informed Grover.

Taking cognizance of media reports, the management board has constituted a fact-finding committee to inspect and examine the irregularities reflecting in the files. Even though the board assured the customers that no one found guilty will be spared, decisive action against those found accountable was yet to begin.