Introducing a new kind of organisational structure in the urban co-operative banking sector, Saraswat Co-operative Bank has created two Managing Director (MD) positions following the retirement of Smita Sandhane as MD on March 31, 2022.
India’s biggest urban co-operative bank, which reported about 7 per cent year-on-year growth in total business (deposits plus advances) at ₹71,573 crore in FY22, now has an MD spearheading Operations (Arti A Patil) and another in charge of Business (Abhijit V Prabhu).
“...In line with the prevailing RBI (Reserve Bank of India) norms, the Bank approached RBI four months prior to the expiry of the (five-year) term of office of the then MD, for appointment of new Managing Director.
“To enable focussed attention to aspects of Business and Operations, a need was felt to appoint two Managing Directors for looking after these verticals,” Saraswat Bank said in its annual report.
Accordingly, a communication was made to the RBI for appointment of two Managing Directors.
The appointment of Patil and Prabhu as MDs is with effect from April 1, 2022. Patil and Prabhu were Chief General Managers, heading the Bank’s Treasury and Retail Banking verticals, respectively, prior to their elevation as MDs.
The Bank’s senior management tier includes a Joint MD (LR Samant) and a Deputy MD (AM Khot).
Targets 15 lakh SB accounts
Meanwhile, Gautam E Thakur, Chairman, observed that the Bank has set a target of opening 15 lakh new Savings accounts over the next few years -- 4 lakh accounts in FY23, 5 lakh accounts in FY24 and 6 lakh accounts in FY25.
Thakur emphasised that the savings accounts thus opened will serve as the foundation for overall business growth, going forward.
The proportion of low-cost current account, savings account (CASA) deposits in overall deposits increased from 30.59 per cent as at March-end 2021 to 31.69 per cent as at March-end 2022, as per the bank’s annual report.
The bank is making sustained efforts to re-engage with customers in cases where accounts have become inoperative, the Chairman said.
Saraswat Bank will focus on retail commercial borrowers (enjoying credit facilities in the ₹1 crore-₹10 crore range) by seeking an active dialogue with them, partner with them (taking care of their credit as well as business needs), extend appropriate guidance to grow their businesses and support them with adequate credit at each level of growth. “In other words we will be handholding these borrowers who are our future SME (small and medium enterprise) clientele, thereby ensuring mutual prosperity in coming years,” Thakur said.