Most of the bank’s depositors belong to the poor and lower middle class sections of the Muslim community, a quintessential “type” for allurement, to any party to bank on for political gains.
By Shaik Zakeer Hussain, TwoCircles.net,
Banglore: Depositors in the crisis hit Amanath Bank might soon breathe a sigh of relief, if the Board of Directors of Canara Bank decides to go ahead with their plans to takeover the Bangalore-based Cooperative.
Canara Bank is currently undertaking the due diligence of Amanath Bank and will progress with its intended acquisition, only after reviewing the books of its target. Earlier this month, R.K. Dubey, chairman and managing director of Canara Bank had said that the process is expected to be completed by the end of August, at a media conference held to announce his organisation’s financial results.
A “due diligence” is an audit report of a target company, done in preparation of a possible takeover or merger.
The scandal-ridden bank has been going through a severe predicament, ever since allegations of misappropriations of funds came into public light. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its position has restricted the bank from allowing withdrawals of more than Rs 1,000 in six months, leaving depositors in the lurch.
Its present chairman, Mr. Naseer Ahmed recently revealed that one of the general managers of the bank had created “benami accounts and had borrowed Rs 56 crore worth loans”. The loans have now been classified as Non-performing asset (NPA) and the manager sacked and later jailed.
Most of the bank’s depositors belong to the poor and lower middle class sections of the Muslim community, a quintessential “type” for allurement, to any party to bank on for political gains.
Last month former Railway Minister and senior Congress leader C. K. Jaffer Sharief launched a hunger strike demanding the state government to hand over the case of misappropriation of funds to CBI, a demand, many political insiders believe, was a score settling act targeted against his political rival and bank founder K.Rahman Khan, who is allegedly involved in the case. However, no one questioned Mr. Sharief, a beard spotting Hajji that the month was Ramadan and as a healthy Muslim, it was obligatory on him to fast anyways.
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