Cosmos Bank set to acquire 3 banks

Co-operative bank plans acquisitions by July-end.

Pune-based, Cosmos Co-operative Bank Ltd (Cosmos Bank), the multi-state scheduled co-operative bank plans to acquire three more co-operative banks by July-end this year.

Shasikant Bugde, Managing Director, Cosmos Bank, told Business Standard, "We are in the process of acquiring three co-operative banks in Gujarat." The bank expects to complete the acquisition by July-end this year.

"We have already received RBI clearance for the acquisition but the clearance is yet to be received from the state co-operative bank registrar," adds Bugde.

Cosmos will acquire two co-operative banks in Ahmedabad and one in Ankaleshwar. All the three co-operative banks are single branch banks.

Bugde informed that the three banks are profitable and none of them were sick. Though the names of the banks are not known it is learnt that Ankaleshwar Taluka Mahila Bank and Naroda Industrial Co-operative Bank reportedly approached the Cosmos Bank with an intention to merger with it.

Bugde declined to give the name of the targeted cooperative banks it is planning to acquire as it is yet to secure clearance from the state co-operative bank registrar.

Last year, Cosmos Bank acquired two co-operative banks "" the Unatti Co-operative Bank and Bank of Ahmedabad.

Bank of Ahmedabad was a sound financial bank with 16 branches in Ahmedabad and two in Mumbai. While Unnati Bank had six branches in Vadodara.