In spite of the irregularities that had been found in the issuance of gold loan at its Gandhi Bazaar branch in July last, the Shivamogga District Cooperative Central (SDCC) Bank has recorded a profit of Rs. 3.61 for 2014-15 fiscal.
Earlier, 18 persons, including a few employees of the bank, had been arrested for their alleged role in the irregularities that had been unearthed in the issuance of gold loan at the bank. As a result of the scam, the bank had also incurred a loss of Rs. 68 crore. The State government had initiated measures to recover this amount from erring persons.
S.H. Santosh Kumar, Managing Director of SDCC Bank, told presspersons that the bank had earned a profit of Rs. 36 lakh during 2012-13 and Rs. 2.44 crore during 2013-14. The profit increased to Rs. 3.61 crore during the year under review (2014-15).
After the alleged irregularities in the bank were exposed, there was a mass withdrawal of fixed deposits by customers. Deposits amounting to over Rs. 117 crore were withdrawn by the end of August, 2014, owing to the panic caused by the scam. Mr. Kumar said, following this development, a series of customer-contact programmes were undertaken by the bank to inform them about various measures that the bank had initiated to keep its financial stability intact. The drive yielded positive results and the bank was able to mobilise deposits necessary for its normal transaction.
By March 31 this year, the bank had a total deposit of Rs. 538.85 crore. The total deposit at the corresponding date of last year was Rs. 597 crore. During 2014-15, the bank had advanced loans worth Rs. 311.91 crore for agriculture and Rs. 220.82 crore for non-agricultural purposes, he said.
With the objective of ensuring transparency in its functioning, the bank resolved to install surveillance cameras on its premises. The work of installation of surveillance cameras had been completed at the main branch and the city branch. It had floated tenders for the installation of surveillance cameras in the remaining 27 branches. The Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) facilities would be introduced at the SDCC Bank by the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal, he said.
Last year, the bank was hit hard by a scam related to issuance of gold loan
Series of customer-contact programmes helped
it regain public confidence: Managing Director
