Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank

Last updated

Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank
Typecooperative
IndustryBanking
Founded Ahmedabad, Gujarat (10 October 1968 (1968-10-10))
Defunctyes
FateLicence cancelled by RBI on 1 June 2012
Headquarters
Ahmedabad
Area served
Interstate
Key people
BKR Maruti(CEO)
Ramesh Parikh (Chairman) [1]
Devendra Pandya (Managing Director)
– ₹1,147.13 crore (US$140 million)

Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank (MMCB) was a Gujarat-based interstate cooperative bank that became defunct and lost its licence after it was unable to pay back the money it owed public depositors. Reserve Bank of India cancelled its licence in June 2012 under section 22 of the Banking regulations Act, 1949. [2]

Contents

History

Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank was registered as a cooperative society in Gujarat on 27 September 1968. It began business within a fortnight, on 10 October, in Ahmedabad's Madhavpura spice-market area dealing with grocery traders. It received its banking licence 26 years later, on 19 August 1994, and became an interstate cooperative bank in April 1996. Three years later, in 1999, its status improved to that of a scheduled bank. [3] [4]

Involvement with stock brokers and impact of the 2001 Sensex crash

In 1999–2000, when the bank had 50,000 public depositors, it started lending out large sums of money to stock brokers in gross violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules and regulations. The MMCB had issued pay orders worth ₹1,200 crore (US$150 million) to stock broker Ketan Parekh, which he discounted at Bank of India. [5] The bank had also lent money to Mukesh Babu and Sirish Maniar of the brokerage firm Maniar Group. At the time banks in India were not allowed to lend more than ₹15 crore (US$1.9 million) to stock brokers. [6] In early 2001 Parekh and other brokers made a large sum of money when the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex saw a bull run; however, when the dotcom bubble burst, the Sensex dropped down to 3,000 points, and Parekh and the bank started having problems. On 8 March 2001, the news broke out that the bank had given a huge guarantee to Parekh which he lost in the stock crash. As little remained in the bank's coffers, public depositors began withdrawing their money; only a few were successful. [7]

Prior to the scam, the Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank was the largest urban cooperative bank in Gujarat. [8] It had a deposit base of ₹1,200 crore (US$150 million) in March 2001, half of which was from other banks. Seeing the condition of the bank and fear of losing their money among the depositors the RBI restricted the bank's operations on 13 March 2001. The Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies superseded the bank's board, whose 12 members were [5]

  1. Ramesh Chandra Parikh (Chairman)
  2. Devendra Pandya (MD)
  3. Ramanlal Parikh
  4. Natverlal Desai
  5. Manilal Shah
  6. Prabhudas Kothari
  7. Purushottamdas Shah
  8. Pravinchandra Shah
  9. Pravinchandra Patel
  10. Dinesh Majumdar
  11. Sevantilal Shah
  12. Natverlal Thakker

Investigation and steps taken by RBI

On 13 March 2001 the RBI found out that the bank's net worth was −₹1,147.13 crore (US$140 million), its deposit erosion was 90.9% and gross non-performing assets were 88.2% and ₹1,192.81 crore (US$150 million). The next day, the registrar superseded the board and appointed an administrator as the overseer of the bank. On 23 August a scheme for reconstruction of the bank was approved by the RBI for a period of 10 years. [9] Further investigations revealed that after chairman Ramesh Chandra Parikh's son Vinit had lost ₹50 crore (US$6.3 million) in the stock-market crash, his losses were paid for through the bank's funds. [5]

By February 2004 the bank was able to recover ₹200 crore (US$25 million) from other banks; Ketan Parekh had returned only ₹6 crore (US$750,000). [10] He was arrested that August, and in December a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court set up for the case cancelled Parekh's conditional bail after he failed to pay the promised ₹380 crore (US$48 million). [11] In June 2003, a New Delhi court granted the CBI a five-day remand of the two Maniar Group stockbrokers – Shirish Manyar and Mukesh Babu. [12] Chargesheets were filed against MMCB chairman Parikh, its CEO Devendra Pandya, Ketan Parekh and his associate Dharmesh Joshi. Joshi's bank account in London containing £6 million was frozen by the CBI in March 2006. [13]

Cancellation of licence

Reserve Bank of India found out on 31 March 2011 that the bank's net assets were worth -₹1,316.50 crore (US$160 million) and deposit erosion was 100 percent, the gross non performing assets were -₹1,126.55 crore (US$140 million) and losses were ₹1,357.41 crore (US$170 million). [14] [15] After the reconstruction scheme expired on 23 August 2011 and after seeing no major improvement in the bank's performance the RBI advised the Government of India on 26 December to liquidate the bank. [8] On 4 January 2012 the Central Task Force for Cooperative Urban Banks also gave the same advice to the Government of India. [3]

The Reserve bank issued a showcause notice to the bank on 16 March 2012 asking why it banking licence should not be cancelled. The cooperative bank replied that the main reason for the failure of the restructuring scheme was the unwillingness of the other cooperative banks to fulfill their commitments and it suggested another revival plan in which an NRI was willing to give ₹500 crore (US$63 million) to the bank for a period of 10 years through the World Bank. [15] It was able to recover only ₹3 crore (US$380,000) from public defaulters and ₹800 crore (equivalent to ₹27 billionorUS$340 million in 2020) were debt on Ketan Parekh. Also the bank neither had any background information regarding the NRI who was willing to help nor the source of his funds. Seeing this the RBI cancelled the bank's licence with effect from 4 June 2012. [3] [9] [16]

As of 5 June 2012 Parekh had paid only ₹329 crore (US$41 million). Parekh alone had to pay ₹569 crore (US$71 million) at the interest rate of 12% per year resulted ₹668 crore (US$84 million). [17]

As of June 2013, 700 civil and 230 criminal cases filed by the bank were pending in various courts. [18] Several cases were filed against the bank and in 70 of these cases trial hadn't begun as of March 2014. [19] One of the accused Ramesh Chandra Parikh, former chairman of the bank died in 2007 while in judicial custody. [19] [20] In January 2011 the public prosecutor in the case, Chetan Shah demanded re-investigation of the case. [20]

Aftermath

After the scam was unfolded the RBI restricted the cooperative banks from providing money to brokerage firms, giving assistance against securities such as shares and debentures and formed task forces to formulate revival plans for the banks that were affected. In most cases the affected bank was merged to a bigger Urban Cooperative Bank. The banking regulatory authority increased the number of inspections of balance sheets of cooperative banks from once in two years to every year. A parliamentary panel was set up to investigate in the stock market scam. The panel found out that the urban cooperative banks were manipulating their activities and that in absence of any inspecting authority many brokerage firms were using funds provided by these banks to manipulate the market. [8] After the scam cooperative banks found it difficult to win back the trust and confidence of their customers. Chairman of the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks & Credit Societies Ltd, H K Patil had said; [8]

The MMCB episode came as a big storm to the cooperative movement. However, the movement withstood and overcome the storm and for past few years, cooperative banks are seen doing fairly well. The regulator, too, has taken a note of the operations of UCBs, [8]

The Bank filed a large number of cases against various defaulters. CID and Central Bureau of Investigation filed several charge sheets. In the case, a defaulter agreed to pay back the withstanding amount case against him was closed. Over 40 cases against defaulters were still pending in Mumbai as of July 2012. [8] Government bodies like Bank of India and Deposit Insurance & Credit Guarantee Corporation were given priority for due recovery. [21] After the scam Securities and Exchange Board of India, the regulatory body for the Indian stock markets was given more power in investigating cases against manipulation and insider trading and to impose heavy penalty and initiate criminal proceedings. [22] Chartered accounted M.M. Chitale played a key role in the formulation and execution of restructuring scheme. The committee under Chitale recommended that the bank should be allowed to make payments under a restructuring scheme. He refused to accept any fees for his work. [23] MMCB repaid ₹665 crore (US$83 million) due to 268 banks in installments. [23]

The RBI issued a circular on 21 July 2004 to the banks that had deposited money with the MMCB to treat their deposits to the bank as non-performing assets and submit the particulars of their deposits to the reserve bank. [24] MMCB auctioned properties of defaulters worth ₹85 crore (US$11 million) on 3 November 2004. [25] Parekh was arrested after the scam garnered media attention. A lower court granted him bail on the condition that he will pay back ₹380 crore (US$48 million) to the bank in three years [26] ending 24 August 2004. He failed to fulfill the condition and filed a plea in the Gujarat High Court to change the terms and conditions of the bail but the court asked him to withdraw the plea. [27] Ketan Parekh offered to pay ₹50 crore (US$6.3 million) in 5 installments by May 2005 but the MMCB rejected his proposal. [28] Nitin Constructions agreed to pay ₹11.50 crore (US$1.4 million) it owed to the MMCB and Dharnendra Agro Foods that owed Rs ₹6.91 crore (US$870,000) to the bank agreed to pay back the withstanding amount. [29] In August 2005 the bank disbursed ₹140 crore (US$18 million) which included 25% of the principal amount and interest at the rate of 3% per annum to its public depositors and other cooperative banks in Rajkot. [30] Till March 2011 there were 1,645 Urban Cooperative Banks registered with the Reserve Bank of India. RBI had received 158 proposals for merging some of these banks and it issued no-objection certificates to 95 of these proposals. Only 6 UCBs had assets greater than ₹500 crore (US$63 million). [15]

Political allegations

In July 2010 Arjun Modhwadia, an Indian National Congress politician alleged that Amit Shah who was a former director of the bank, had received ₹2.50 crore (US$310,000) in bribe from Ketan Parekh in exchange for help in the case. [26] During the 2014 Indian general election Digvijay Singh also made similar allegations. [31] In August 2011 before the term for the restructuring sceme was to finish a delegation representing the banking industry met with the Secretary of Union agriculture ministry P K Basu. [32] However RBI cancelled the bank's licence in June 2012. [33]

Liquidation committee

In 2013 the bank had to recover ₹1,467 crore (US$180 million) from a total number of 851 defaulters including 18 members of the broker Parikh's group which owed ₹1,117 crore (US$140 million) and another ₹350 crore (US$44 million) owed by 833 defaulters. Chaman Kumar, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer had been appointed the liquidator. [18] The other members of liquidation committee were;

In 2012 the bank owed a total of ₹1,596 crore (US$200 million):

Till 2013 the bank had launched 5 One time settlement schemes; in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2013. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserve Bank of India</span> Central bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for the control, issue and maintaining supply of the Indian rupee. It also manages the country's main payment systems and works to promote its economic development. Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM) is a specialised division of RBI through which it prints and mints Indian currency notes (INR) in three of its currency printing presses located in Nashik, Dewas, and Mysore .. The RBI established the National Payments Corporation of India as one of its specialised division to regulate the payment and settlement systems in India. Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation was established by RBI as one of its specialised division for the purpose of providing insurance of deposits and guaranteeing of credit facilities to all Indian banks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harshad Mehta</span> Indian stockbroker and businessman (1954–2001)

Harshad Shantilal Mehta was an Indian stockbroker and a convicted fraudster. Mehta's involvement in the 1992 Indian securities scam made him infamous as a market manipulator.

Modern banking in India originated in the mid of 18th century. Among the first banks were the Bank of Hindustan, which was established in 1770 and liquidated in 1829–32; and the General Bank of India, established in 1786 but failed in 1791.

Deposit insurance or deposit protection is a measure implemented in many countries to protect bank depositors, in full or in part, from losses caused by a bank's inability to pay its debts when due. Deposit insurance systems are one component of a financial system safety net that promotes financial stability.

Ketan Parekh is a former stockbroker from Mumbai, who was convicted in 2008 for involvement in the Indian stock market manipulation scam that occurred from late 1998 to 2001. During this period, Parekh artificially rigged prices of certain chosen securities, using large sums of money borrowed from banks including the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank, of which he himself was a director.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. It offers banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers in the areas of personal finance, investment banking, life insurance, and wealth management. It is India's third largest private sector bank by market capitalisation after HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. As of February 2021, the bank has 1600 branches and 2519 ATMs.

Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank was a cooperative bank based in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India. It was founded in 1973 by Pratibha Patil, who later became President of India, with the objective of empowering women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yes Bank</span> Indian bank

Yes Bank is an Indian bank headquartered in Mumbai, India and was founded by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapoor in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saradha Group financial scandal</span> Financial scandal in India

The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major financial scam and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies that was believed to be running collective investment schemes popularly but incorrectly referred to as chit funds in Eastern India.

Global Trust Bank (India) (GTB) was founded on 21 October 1994 and commenced operations at Secunderabad. Its founders included Ramesh Gelli (its first Chairman), Sridar Subasri, and Jayant Madhob, among others. The bank introduced a number of technology-based innovations and responsive service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payments bank</span> New model of banks initiative by Reserve Bank of India

Payments banks are new model of banks, conceptualised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which cannot issue credit. These banks can accept a restricted deposit, which is currently limited to ₹200,000 per customer and may be increased further. These banks cannot issue loans and credit cards. Both current account and savings accounts can be operated by such banks. Payments banks can issue ATM cards or debit cards and provide online or mobile banking. Bharti Airtel set up India's first payments bank, Airtel Payments Bank.

SFB are a type of niche banks in India. Banks with a small finance bank (SFB) license can provide basic banking service of acceptance of deposits and lending. The aim behind these is to provide financial inclusion to sections of the economy not being served by other banks, such as small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

Anubhav Plantations was an Indian Chennai-based plantation company founded in 1992. It sold shares in teak plantations on guaranteed interests and later diversified to other schemes through four principal companies: Anubhav Agrotech, Anubhav Green Farms & Resorts, Anubhav Plantations, and Anubhav Royal Orchards Exports.

Airtel Payments Bank is an Indian payments bank with its headquarters in New Delhi. The company is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel. On 5 January 2022, it was granted the scheduled bank status by Reserve Bank of India under second schedule of RBI Act, 1934.

Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) is an Indian payments bank, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Noida and is part of mobile payment company paytm. In the same year, it received the license to run a payments bank from the Reserve Bank of India and was launched in November 2017. In 2021, the bank received a scheduled bank status from the RBI.

Suvarna Sahakari Bank was an Indian private urban co-operative bank based in Pune, Maharashtra, India, which operated from its incorporation on 22 September 1969 till its dissolution on 20 May 2009.

I Monetary Advisory (IMA) was an Indian investment company, with headquarters in Bangalore. Its collapse was one in a long line of similar collapses over the preceding few years, of companies purporting to be Islamic banking companies, with investors in India and the United Arab Emirates, that investigating authorities afterwards stated to have been Ponzi schemes, including: Heera Group; Morgenall, Capital Plus, and Capital Infrastructure ; Injaz International, Ajmera, Aleef, Aala Ventures, Ambidant, and Burraqh; and Sunfeast Infotech, SpeakAsia, MMA Forex, Gold AE, Ferryland Tourism, UT Markets and Exential Group. Total losses to investors over 14 such companies have been conservatively estimated at ₹5,000 crore (US$630 million) with the loss due to IMA alone estimated at ₹2,500 crore (US$310 million)

Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Limited (PMC), is a multi-state co-operative bank that began operations in 1983. It has 137 branches spread over half a dozen states of India and nearly 100 branches are in Maharashtra. It is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and registered under the Cooperative Societies Act.

The 1992 Indian stock market scam was a market manipulation carried out by Harshad Shantilal Mehta with other bankers and politicians on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The scam caused significant disruption to the stock market of India, defrauding investors of over ten million USD.

References

  1. ↑ "Madhavpura Bank repays depositors". Moneycontrol. 26 August 2005. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Madhavpura Mercantile Co-op Bank licence cancelled | Business Line". Thehindubusinessline.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "RBI annuls Madhavpura Mercantile Co-op Bank licence". The Hindu. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Co-operative Bank Scams in India". icmrindia.org. IBS Centre for Management Research. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Madhavpura Bank: A ready reckoner". Rediff. 31 March 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Scam". Flame. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "MMCB to request Rs 500 cr central aid". Business Standard. Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 31 July 2004. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gujarat's urban cooperative banks". Business Standard. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 Jacob, Ruby (8 June 2012). "Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd looses banking license". Fintotal. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "MMCB to refund Rs 200 crore by August". Business Standard. 27 February 2004. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Ketan Parekh faces non-bailable arrest warrant". Business Standard. 21 December 2004. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "2 stock brokers remanded in Madhavpura case". The Hindu Business Line. 13 June 2003. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "London account of Stock broker Ketan Parekh's associate frozen". news.oneindia.in. 30 March 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Ray, Atmadip (7 June 2012). "RBI cancels scam-hit Madhavpura Coop Bank's licence". Economic Times. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 Mohan, Raghu (7 June 2012). "Madhavpura Mercantile Coop Bank: A Short Life". businessworld.in. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Reserve Bank Cancels the Licence of The Madhavpura Mercantile Co-perative Bank Ltd., Ahmedabad (Gujarat)". Reserve Bank of India. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "RBI cancels Madhavpura Mercantile's banking licence". Business Standard. 5 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 "Madhavpura Bank plans OTS for recovery". DNA India. Ahmedabad. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  19. 1 2 Zala, Vijay (20 March 2014). "Taarikh pe taarikh". Ahmedabad Mirror. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Re-investigate Madhavpura Cooperative Bank scam: Prosecutor". Yahoo. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "MMCB: Govt bodies to get dues first". Business Standard. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Market regulator shifts focus to manipulation, price rigging". Business Standard. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  23. 1 2 "BS People: M M Chitale". Business Standard. 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Co-op banks told to write MMCB deposits off". Business Standard. 26 July 2004. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "MMCB to sell defaulters' properties". Business Standard. 20 October 2004. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  26. 1 2 "Amit Shah took bribe from scamster Ketan Parekh?". Reddif. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Parekh told to withdraw plea on MMCB case". Business Standard. 2 December 2004. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "MMCB rejects new KP payment plan". Business Standard. 24 December 2004. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "MMCB initiates steps to recover Rs 18.41 cr". Business Standard. 19 April 2005. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  30. ↑ "Madhavpura Bank repays depositors". Rediff. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  31. ↑ Chatterji, Saubhaddra (9 May 2014). "Amit Shah had a deal with Ketan Parekh: Digvijaya". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  32. ↑ "Scam-hit Madhavpura Mercantile Co-op Bank's fate hangs in balance". Indian Express. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  33. ↑ "RBI cancels licence of scam-tainted Madhavpura Mercantile Bank". Indian Express. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.