Visakhapatnam Co-operative Bank Ltd, one of the leading urban co-operative banks in the South, is on an expansion drive, but the RBI is not permitting it to open more branches, according to the bank Chairman, Ch Raghavendra Rao.

At a media conference here on Wednesday, he said the bank, set up 103 years ago, had set up 50 branches in all the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh, besides Hyderabad.

"Ours is one of the oldest urban co-operative banks in the country and is currently one of the top 20 urban banks in the country, with deposits of Rs 2,730 crore and advances of Rs 1,970 crore. We have earned a profit of Rs 33.71 crore for 2017-18, with the net NPA being only 1.54 per cent," he said.

He said that the RBI was not permitting the bank to open more branches. "We want to set up at least more four to five branches more in AP and a few more in Hyderabad. But RBI has taken a policy decision not to accord sanction. We have also applied for scheduled status, which is also pending," he said.

He said commercial banks as well as private banks in the country were not functioning very well. "At present, the banking sector is in a deep crisis and many of the urban co-operative banks are much better placed than commercial banks and private banks. Even then the RBI is placing all sorts of restrictions on our growth," he said.

M Anjaneyulu, former Chairman of the bank, said, "It is indeed ironical that at a time when the commercial banks are saddled with soaring NPAs, the Union Government as the owner does not assume responsibility for the banking sector crisis. Nor does the RBI as the regulator. But both the Government and the RBI are stifling the growth of urban co-operative banks."

He said that the RBI should sanction scheduled status to Visakha Co-op Bank as the bank had met all the criteria and allow it to open more branches.

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