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Startling! Deposits worth ₹ 80 cr in Kerala coops have no takers

  • Huge amounts deposited in cooperative banks remain unclaimed for over five years.
  • Interestingly more than half of these unclaimed accounts are in primary cooperative banks. 

 

Deposits worth Rs 80 cr in Kerala coops have no takers

 

Even as the heated debate over the restrictions laid down by the Centre and the RBI refuses to die down, the latest revelations on the huge deposits in the Cooperative Banks in Kerala have come as a surprise to many.  


As per a report, deposits worth ₹ 80.86 crores in cooperative banks in the state remain unclaimed. No claims have been raised on these fixed deposits for over five years even though their period ended. 

 

Interestingly more than half of these unclaimed accounts are in primary cooperative banks (₹ 50.59cr) followed by District Cooperative Banks (₹ 23.93 cr). The report is based on the data collected from banks till November 2016, before demonetization.

 

The BJP and the Left Democratic Front in the state are locked in a heated controversy over the Centre's restrictions on cooperative banks. Even though the RBI did not restrict cooperative banks from receiving banned notes after demonetization, later, they were forbidden from accepting demonetized currencies as deposits. But by then, the cooperative banks in the state had already accepted deposits to the tune of over ₹ 3,000 crores in less than four days! 

 

When the RBI restrictions brought the functioning of the cooperatives to a standstill, the Left parties and the Congress hit the streets alleging that the Centre was stifling the cooperative banks that play a significant role in the rural and agrarian economy in the state. About 1,551 primary co-operative banks in the state have huge deposits. 

 

According to Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, the cooperative banks in the state have ₹ 90,000 crores in deposits and ₹ 75,000 crores in credits. The deposit-credit ratio is 80%, much higher than Kerala’s largest nationalised bank. 

 

Alleging that most of the cooperative banks in the state are not transparent enough, the BJP supported the restrictions imposed by the RBI. It also alleged that these banks are havens where black money can be safely parked in the local economy. 

 

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