- Saraswat Co-operative Bank is aiming to achieve as much growth in the next ten years as it has in its entire 100-plus year history.
- As India’s largest urban co-operative bank, established in 1918, it plans to more than double its total business—comprising deposits and advances—to ₹2 lakh crore over the next decade.
- The bank is also gearing up to operate as a universal bank within the co-operative sector.
- By the end of March 2025, Saraswat Co-operative Bank reported a total business of ₹91,814 crore, which includes deposits of ₹55,481 crore and advances of ₹36,333 crore.
- “With a solid balance sheet, strong financial metrics, and a robust operational framework, we are confidently moving towards the ₹1 lakh crore business milestone,” said Chairman Gautam E Thakur.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank is aiming to achieve as much growth in the next ten years as it has in its entire 100-plus year history.
As India’s largest urban co-operative bank, established in 1918, it plans to more than double its total business—comprising deposits and advances—to ₹2 lakh crore over the next decade. The bank is also gearing up to operate as a universal bank within the co-operative sector.
By the end of March 2025, Saraswat Co-operative Bank reported a total business of ₹91,814 crore, which includes deposits of ₹55,481 crore and advances of ₹36,333 crore.
“With a solid balance sheet, strong financial metrics, and a robust operational framework, we are confidently moving towards the ₹1 lakh crore business milestone,” said Chairman Gautam E Thakur.
Thakur pointed out that a new category of banks, known as small finance banks (SFBs), has emerged recently.
“However, in terms of size and asset quality, we are well ahead of most SFBs and even some smaller private banks. Our real competition lies with the larger public and private sector banks,” he explained.
In the bank’s latest annual report, Thakur highlighted that the bank achieved an impressive incremental business growth of around ₹9,800 crore in FY25, marking the highest year-on-year increase in its 107-year history.
The report also discussed succession planning, product development, and operational systems. Additionally, the bank is prepared to operate as a universal bank in the co-operative sector, a pioneering move in India.
The annual report mentioned that a pathway to becoming a universal bank has been outlined for Tier-IV UCBs (those with deposits exceeding ₹10,000 crore) in the 2021 report by the expert committee on UCBs, led by NS Vishwanathan, former Deputy Governor of the RBI. This transition will require appropriate regulatory frameworks to be established.
“Throughout this entire transformational journey, we’re not just setting our sights on reaching the ₹1 lakh crore business milestone, which is just around the corner. We’re also gearing up to hit the next ₹1 lakh crore mark within the next decade,” Thakur shared.
In India, under the universal banking model, banks handle their lending activities internally. However, para-banking services like credit cards, primary dealer operations, and factoring can be managed either within the bank’s departments or through subsidiaries, joint ventures, or associates.
Additionally, services such as insurance, stock broking, investment banking, and asset management must be conducted outside the bank.