Kerala Bank

Kerala State Co-operative Bank Limited, branded as Kerala Bank, is a co-operative bank set up by the Government of Kerala, India.

History
The beginning of the Kerala State Co-operative Bank Ltd dates back to early 20th century. In 1914, the then Maharaja of Travancore, His Highness Sree Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma, through a proclamation introduced “The Travancore Co-operative Societies Regulation Act”. The Bank was registered in the year 1915 as the “Trivandrum Central Co-operative Bank” which was the first Co-operative Society to be formed in the former princely State of Travancore. It started functioning as a Bank on 18th January, 1916 with a share capital of ₹1,00,000 made up of 1000 shares of ₹100 each. In the beginning there were 16 Co-operative Societies and 69 individuals as its members.

In 1943, it was converted into the Travancore Central Co-operative Bank, giving it a federal character of the Travancore State. In the wake of Indian Independence and the reorganization of States, the Bank was re-organized as a State Co-operative Bank for Travancore-Cochin State in the year 1954. In the year 1956, the reorganization of Indian States took place. The State of Kerala was formed on 1st November, 1956. The Bank was then elevated to the position of State Co-operative Bank for the State of Kerala and it became “The Kerala State Co-operative Bank Ltd.” At that time, the Bank had a working capital of ₹42.90 lakhs, deposit of ₹30.33 lakhs and loans and advances to the tune of ₹21.66 lakhs.

The Kerala State Co-operative Bank was registered and retained as an Apex Bank in which only the Co-operative Banks approved by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies were admitted as members. Since then, the Trivandrum District Co-operative Bank and the Government of Kerala were the only members. Subsequently after the formation of the Districts, District Co-operative Banks were registered in each District and all the District Co-operative Banks were admitted as members. .

In July 1966, the Kerala State Co-operative Bank Ltd was included in the 2nd Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934. As per the provisions contained in the 2nd Schedule of the Act, gradually approved the Bank as a Scheduled State Co-operative Bank. The Kerala State Co-operative Bank Ltd is the first Scheduled Apex Co-operative Bank in the Co-operative Banking Sector in the country. In 1972, it was issued a license to carry on the business of Banking under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1966. This Bank is a financing bank as defined in the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 and is a Co-operative Society which has only other Co-operative Societies as its members. The bank is engaged in banking business within the frame work of rules/regulations/guidelines stipulated by Reserve Bank of India and National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD).

The Government of Kerala had taken a policy decision to convert the existing three tier short term co-operative structure within the State into a two tier structure. The Reserve Bank of India had conveyed their consent for the amalgamation of 13 District Co-operative Banks which approved scheme of amalgamation with Kerala State Co-operative Bank. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies has approved the resolution passed by 13 District Co-operative Banks on 3rd July, 2019 to transfer its assets and liabilities in whole to Kerala State Co-operative Bank and issued order for amalgamation of 13 District Co-operative Bank with Kerala state Co-operative Bank, based on the resolutions passed by General Bodies of respective District Co-operative Banks as provided under section 14A of Kerala Co-operative Societies Act.

Among the 14 District Co-operative Banks functioning in Kerala at the time of the formation of Kerala State Co-operative Bank, only the Malappuram District Co-operative Bank Ltd had opposed merger with the Kerala State Co-operative Bank. Also, the Kerala High Court has issued a stay order on the Kerala State Government's move to merge the Malappuram District Co-operative Bank with the Kerala State Co-operative Bank. In addition to the 14 district co-operative banks, Kerala has a network of 1,692 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS's) and 16 licensed Urban Co-operative Banks all of which have become members/shareholders of the current bank.

Management
The Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS's) and Urban Co-operative Banks (UCB's) are designated as the 'A' Class Members of the Kerala State Co-operative Bank. The supreme authority of the bank is the General Body. The General Body consists of delegates of 'A' Class Members, ex-officio Directors and Directors nominated by the Government. The management of the bank is vested in the Board of Directors subject to the overall control of the General Body. The Board of Directors consist of twenty-one members of whom fifteen are elected by the 'A' Class Members of the Bank.

Rajan P. S. is the first Chief Executive Officer and Mini Antony IAS, the first Administrator of the Kerala State Co-operative Bank.The President of Kerala Bank is Gopi Kottamurikkal and Vice-President is MK Kannan.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 2024 has downgraded Kerala Bank to the C Class category.The action has been taken based on the reports from NABARD. With this, henceforth, the bank has been instructed not to provide personal loans above Rs 25 lakhs.

Structure
The headquarters of the Kerala Bank is in Thiruvananthapuram and the corporate office is based in Kochi. The Bank has seven regional offices created by merging two District Co-operative Banks to handle businesses of two districts each. The regional offices are in Thiruvananthapuram (along with Kollam), Alappuzha (along with Pathanamthitta), Kottayam (along with Idukki), Thrissur (along with Ernakulam), Palakkad (along with Malappuram), Kozhikode (along with Wayanad) and Kannur (along with Kasaragod).

Controversy
In September 2022, a college student from Sooranad committed suicide after the Kerala Bank pasted attachment notice indicating defaulting on loan repayment in front of her house.