Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank is looking to enter infrastructure and retail lending segments, to broaden its borrower profile, a senior bank official said on Thursday.

The bank continues to be under a Reserve Bank of India-appointed administrator, after its elected board was alleged to have mismanaged the bank.

“We cannot have all our lending to the sugar factories (cooperatives) alone. What if they go down? Therefore, we have decided to diversify and start infra and retail lending,” Vidyadhar Anaskar, the administrator, told reporters.

Anaskar said it will focus on automobile, home and personal loans under the retail segment, while the infrastructure loans will be for projects which will benefit the state.

He said that co-operative banks are allowed to write unsecured loans of up to ₹2 lakh, which can go up if a salary-linked account is attached to it.

When asked if it is looking to open more branches, he said this task will be accomplished through mergers.

“Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank is conducting diligence and negotiations to merge with two struggling co-operative banks, each based in Mumbai and Pune,” he said.

The bank has reported a net profit of ₹316 crore for the fiscal year 2018-19, up from last year’s ₹201 crore, while the stock of Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) improved to 7.35 per cent from 9.91 per cent in them ₹19,700 crore book.

Its capital adequacy stands at 16 per cent against the mandatory requirement of nine per cent, while the overall net worth is ₹2,717 crore.

When asked as to when the bank will go back to being run by a board-elected administrator, Anaskar said the matter will be decided by the Bombay High Court.

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