Thane Janata Sahakari Bk to buy 3 co-op banks

The Thane Janata Sahakari Bank is close to acquiring three co-operative
banks in Maharashtra - two in Pune and one in Nashik - and expects to close
the deals within the next two to three months.

The company has finalised the process and is awaiting regulatory approvals, while the financial details of the acquisitions were not revealed.

"Navajeevan Sahakari Bank and Sadguru Jangali Maharaj Bank are the two
Pune-based banks on Thane Janta Sahakari Bank's radar for which the due
diligence procedures have been completed. The company has initiated talks
with a third co-operative bank in Nashik," R G Karve, CEO of Thane Janata Sahakari Bank, said here today.

He, however, did not divulge the name of the third bank. Industry sources
said that the Nashik-based has 13 branches and had transacted business worth
Rs 300 crore in last financial year.

"All the three banks have posted negative capital adequacy and we are
acquiring the banks including all assets, debts and liabilities. Thane Janta
Sahakari Bank has filed proposals with the commissioner of cooperatives and
the Reserve Bank of India and is awaiting regulatory approvals," Karve
said.

Navajeevan Sahakari Bank has transacted business worth Rs 30 crore in the
last fiscal and has a lost of around Rs 5 crore. The bank has 3 three
branches in Pune. While Sadguru Jangali Maharaj Bank has transacted business
of Rs 500 crore, has losses of around Rs 40 crore and had 14 branches in the
state.

At present, Thane Janta Sahakari Bank has 20 branches and 4 extensioin
counters, and if the deals go through this will help the bank in getting a
pan-Maharashtra presence.

"We are looking at gaining a presence in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik, the
fast developing regions in the state," he said.

This could be termed as consolidation of co-operative banks in the state, as
earlier The Shamrao Vithal Co-operative bank had acquired 11 branches of
Shri Mahavir Co-operative Bank and made its foray into the Kolhapur and
Sangli districts. The bank now has an aggregate of 61 branches. The banks
proposal to acquire another urban cooperative bank in Banglore with 13
branches is under consideration with RBI.