RBI governor urges urban co-op banks to ensure proper loan underwriting, recovery practices

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das

The Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das urged boards of select large urban co-operative banks (UCBs) of western zone to ensure proper credit underwriting standards, review and follow up on recovery of non-performing assets. In his address to a conference of UCB boards, Das highlighted the critical importance of robust governance and the role of the board of directors to ensure the same.

“Governor urged Boards of UCBs to ensure proper credit underwriting standards, review and follow up on recovery of non-performing assets as well as prudently manage liquidity risk. Shri Das also touched upon aspects of capacity building, especially with respect to IT and cyber security,” the RBI said in a statement.

RBI deputy governor Swaminathan J highlighted the pivotal role UCBs in providing last mile connectivity to the unbanked population. He also focused on the consequent need to enhance UCBs financial and operational resilience for sustenance of overall systemic stability.

Additionally, the conference included sessions on IT and cybersecurity, governance and assurance functions, as well as supervisory and regulatory expectations.

Earlier, deputy governor M Rajeshwar Rao stressed the need for effective governance, the importance of the internal audit function in early detection of irregularities, and the need for leveraging technology.

Rao highlighted the critical role played by UCBs in providing banking services, especially to the unbanked. He emphasized the importance of a robust and comprehensive risk management framework in ensuring sound banking operations.

In recent years, the RBI has strengthened the scrutiny of cooperative banks with more penal actions lined up and cancelled the licence of several co-operative banks.