Two existing regional rural banks (RRBs) in Odisha- Rushikulya Gramya Bank (RGB) and Utkal Gramya Bank (UGB) have been amalgamated to form a new RRB- Utkal Grameen Bank.
The Utkal Grameen Bank will function with its head office at Bolangir under the sponsorship of State Bank of India (SBI), according to a notification of the Department of Financial Services under Union ministry of finance.
The decision to form the new RRB has been taken after due consultation with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).
Presently, RGB has 87 branches with operating areas in two south Odisha districts- Ganjam and Gajapati. On the other hand, UGB has 336 branches, operating in 15 districts. With the merger of both the banks, the new entity will now operate in 17 districts of the state, sources said.
The authorised capital of the new bank would be Rs 5 crore. The subscribed share capital of the new RRB would be equal to the subscribed share capital of transferor banks (RGB and UGB). The entire subscribed share capital of the transferor banks will be deemed to have been transferred to and will be deemed as subscribed share capital of the transferee bank, sources said.
Besides Ganjam and Gajapati districts, the new entity would operate in districts like Malkanagiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangapur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Kandhamal, Boudh, Bolangir, Sonepur, Baragada, Sambalapur, Deogarh, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh, sources said. The regional office of the new bank will function at Berhampur, said a senior officer. Sources said the process is also on for amalgamation of other three RRBs to float a single RRB by the end of this month.
