RBI left to decide on Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank case

It depends on the Reserve Bank of India whether or not to make any further investigation into financial irregularities at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank.

This was Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's reply to the Finance Ministry's position in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank case.

"The bank is already under direction of the Reserve Bank ... Decision on any further investigation in such case is to be taken by the RBI considering all facts and circumstances," he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

With reference to the bank's financial position on March 31, 2010, a statutory inspection was carried out by NABARD which revealed that financial position of the bank had deteriorated further and irregularities reported earlier were prevailing in the functioning of the bank, he said.

Following this, NABARD had recommended suppression of the Board of Directors of the bank and the RBI on May 4, 2011, had asked the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar Cooperative Societies, Maharashtra, to make an order to take over the Board of Directors of the ailing bank and appoint an administrator thereafter, Mukherjee said.

"Registrar Cooperative Societies...its order dated May 7, 2011 superseded the Board of Directors of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank and appointed Board of Administrators to manage the affairs of the bank," the minister added further.