Best Cooperative Banks in India: India is home to Numerous Cooperative Banks. In 2022, these top 10 cooperative banks will shape the way Indians save and invest their money.
Opening an account with any topmost cooperative banks is often better since they offer slightly higher interest rates and have lucrative schemes.
India has an enviable banking history that few nations can boast.
In 1720, the Bank of Bombay was introduced commercial banking to this country. The history of this bank is sadly lost over the centuries.
The Reserve Bank of India’s website however indicates, this ancient bank closed doors after 50 years, in 1770.
This was followed by Bank of Hindostan, which began in 1770 but failed in 1832. Several other banks opened had to close shop for several reasons.
In 1806, the British East India Company opened three banks: Bank of Bombay, Bank of Calcutta, and Bank of Madras.
The arrival of the Imperial Bank of India in 1840 saw the merger of these banks.
The cooperative movement in India
During the colonization era, landlords and moneylenders in the Indian subcontinent were known to fleece borrowers.
They would charge exorbitant interest rates, fudge accounts and grab land illegally from illiterate masses.
At a time when commercial banks with proper rules were non-existent, a group of social reformers and traders launched India’s first indigenous cooperative credit union.
The AnyonyaSahayakariMandali opened in Baroda (Vadodara) in 1889. The union took a new name- AnyonyaSahayakariMandali Cooperative Bank.
It began with a capital of Rs.76 and 23 shareholders. It became very popular. Within one year of operation, it had a capital of Rs.873.
The bank’s purpose was to offer easy credit to people and prevent exploitation from moneylenders.
Sadly, the bank closed down in 2008 after 119 years of successful operation, due to financial and administrative problems.
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Evolution and Consolidation of Cooperative Banks:
In 1906, two Mumbai-based visionaries, Rao Bahadur Shripad SubbaraoTalmaki and Shamrao Vithal Kaikini registered a small cooperative society.
The duo operated with a single table, a couple of chairs from the stairwell of a chawl in the Giragaum district of Mumbai.
Their aim was to provide simple savings options and cheap loans to members of the community.
The cooperative was very successful. It got its banking license in 1906.
The cooperative society evolved into a bank named Shamrao Vithal Cooperative Bank Ltd, in memory of Kaikini, who had passed away in 1905. This enterprise was a pioneer in other ventures to follow.
India’s cooperative Bank sector
Cooperative banks in India are broadly classified into two categories:
- Urban cooperative bank
- Rural cooperative bank
Urban cooperative Banks function on lines similar to Public Sector Undertaking (nationalized) and private banks. They are now called ‘Scheduled Multi-State Cooperative’ banks
Rural cooperative banks restrict their operation to specific districts only.
List of Top 10 Best Cooperative Banks in India:
1. Saraswat Bank
| CEO | J.K. Parulkar |
| No of Branches | 283 |
| No of ATM | 311 |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 4,242 |
| Revenue | 3,742.24 crores INR (US$500 million) |
| Customer Care Number | 1800 22 9999 |
Born as Saraswat Cooperative Banking Society on September 14, 1918, Saraswat Bank ranks as India’s most trusted and No 1 Credit society.
It got a banking license in 1933 and took a new name, Saraswat Cooperative Bank Ltd.
Today it is known as Saraswat Bank. It is now the biggest Scheduled Multistate Bank in India.
Saraswat Bank’s financial results for 2020-21 show, it has business in excess 0f Rs.3,620.18 crores.
2. Cosmos Bank
| CEO | Suhas Subhash Gokhale |
| No of Branches | 140 |
| No of ATM | 133 |
| Headquarter | Pune |
| No of employees | 2,714 |
| Revenue | 379.08 crores INR (US$53 million) |
| Customer Care Number | 020 6708 6708 |
With headquarters in Pune, Cosmos Bank’s history can be traced to 1906.
A prominent political and literary personality of Maharashtra, Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar aka Sahityasamrat Tatyasaheb Kelkar, was its first chairman.
Cosmos Bank is the first of its kind to open a currency chest, following permission from the Reserve Bank of India. Without a doubt, cosmos bank is one of the Topmost Cooperative banks in India.
Cosmos Bank’s financials for the year 2020-21 show its business stands at Rs.1,332.78 crores.
Also Read: Top 10 Most Reliable and Leading Foreign Banks in India
3. SVC Bank
| CEO | Ashish Singhal |
| No of Branches | 198 |
| No of ATM | 1,80,000 |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 2,400 |
| Revenue | 150.21 Crore |
| Customer Care Number | 1800 313 2120 |
Pioneer of India’s cooperative banking industry, SVC Bank is the new corporate identity of Shamrao Vithal Cooperative Bank.
SCV Bank is India’s third-largest Cooperative Bank.
SVC Bank has a total business in excess of Rs.263 crores. A total of 193 branches across various states offer SVC Bank’s services in India.
4. Abhyudaya Cooperative Bank
| CEO | Shri Premnath S. Salian |
| No of Branches | 111 |
| No of ATM | 2,40,000 |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 144 |
| Revenue | ₹131,452.844 million (US$1.7 billion) |
| Customer Care Number | 022-68778900 |
Economically weaker sections of laborers dwelling and residing in Kalachowkie, Sewri, and Parel areas of Mumbai started the Abhyudaya Co-op.
Credit Society Ltd with a capital of Rs.5,000. In June 1965, the society successfully applied for a banking license.
Financial Results for the year 2020-21 indicate the bank had a net business worth Rs. 3.55 crores
Abhyudaya has 111 branches in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat. Of these, 34 branches offer evening banking services too.
5. Bharat Cooperative Bank
| CEO | Srinivas Nagesh Bhar |
| No of Branches | 103 |
| No of ATM | – |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 1434 |
| Revenue | 1092.86 Crore |
| Customer Care Number | 022-6189 0091 |
In 1977, young members of a group called Billawar Association sold shares at Rs.10 each to start a bank that can serve low and middle-income groups.
They got the banking license a year later. Over the last 39 years, the Bharat Cooperative Bank grew in size and number.
It has over 103 branches in various parts of India and a business of Rs.32.80 crores.
6. TJSB Sahakari Bank
| CEO | Sunil Sathe |
| No of Branches | 136 |
| No of ATM | 125 |
| Headquarter | Thane |
| No of employees | 126 |
| Revenue | $24 Million |
| Customer Care Number | 22 2587 8500 |
Few banks have impressive figures like TJSB Bank. Launched in 1972 as Thane Jilha Sahakari Bank Ltd, it is today one of the leading cooperative lender banks of India.
TJSB Sahakari Bank has 124 branches in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, and Karnataka. Its net business stood at Rs.163 crores in fiscal 2020-21.
7. Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank
| CEO | SURINDER PAL SINGH RAM SINGH |
| No of Branches | 137 |
| No of ATM | – |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 1204 |
| Revenue | ₹1,297 crores (US$172 million) |
| Customer Care Number | 1800 22 3993 |
The humble beginning of PMC Bank was on February 13, 1984, from a small room in the Sion suburb of Mumbai.
The bank offers a 12-hour banking service to clients from most of its branches.
Some branches of PMC Bank remain open on Sunday and national holidays/ festivals too. In the fiscal year 2020-21, PMC Bank had a business of Rs.130 billion.
8. Janata Sahakari Bank
| CEO | Shri. Jagdish Purushottam Kashyap |
| No of Branches | 71 |
| No of ATM | 11 |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 12,931 |
| Revenue | 954.71 |
| Customer Care Number | 20 – 24404444 |
Janata Sahakari Bank was established on October 18, 1949, by a group of people committed to the social causes of residents of Pune city. It is one of the most trusted cooperative banks in India.
Janata Sahakari draws its fame by helping economically weaker sections of the society and offering them affordable, attractive savings and loan products.
Janata Sahakari Bank discloses that its net business was worth Rs.230.27 crores for the fiscal year 2020-21.
9. Kalupur Commercial Co-operative Bank
| CEO | Vinod Dadlani |
| No of Branches | 68 |
| No of ATM | 60+ |
| Headquarter | Ahmedabad |
| No of employees | 500 |
| Revenue | 854.57 Crores |
| Customer Care Number | 1800 233 99999 |
The bank is introduced by the Late Shri Baldevbhai Patel, Late Shri Gopaldas Shivlal Patel, Late Shri Arvindbhai Saheba their vision behind this was to provide credit facilities to the businessmen, which were avoided in 1969 when most of the banks got nationalized.
On 5th December 1970, the Reserve Bank Of India had given the license, and in the year 1988 RBI had given the status of the scheduled bank to 11 co-operative banks out of the 1400 banks.
From Gujarat three co-operative banks got the status of the scheduled bank out of that Kalupur Commercial Co-operative Bank also got this status.
10. NKGSB Cooperative Bank
| CEO | Chintamani Nadkarni |
| No of Branches | 109 |
| No of ATM | 77,000 |
| Headquarter | Mumbai |
| No of employees | 25 |
| Revenue | 790.81 |
| Customer Care Number | 022 – 6104 9879 |
North Kanara Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Cooperative Bank was founded on September 26, 1917, by an entrepreneur called Sheth Shantaram Mangesh Kulkarni.
It began more as a cooperative credit society and later procured a banking license. Today, NKGSB Bank has some 109 branches located in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
Additionally, it has tied up with various Non-Banking Financial Companies and insurers in India to provide a slew of investment and wealth management services to customers.
Also Read: 15 Best Nationalized Banks in India
Future Outlook
Post demonetization in November 2016, cooperative banks have come into the limelight for offering various apps and net-banking solutions that offer ease of operations.
Interest rates offered by cooperative banks are slightly higher than those of Public Sector Undertaking, private banks, and foreign banks.
Further, cooperative banks operate on a very professional basis and hence offer a high standard of services for customers. In the coming years, the cooperative banks of India will play a major role in the country’s financial sector.
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