Banking restrictions
THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed the Secunderabad-based Prudential Co-operative Bank (PCBL) not to grant or renew any loans and advances or make any investment without prior written approval.
Under the order, the bank can allow withdrawal of up to Rs 1,000 (approx. £ 13.57) of savings or current accounts.
? Indian Express, India
Arrests in fraud case
In a major breakthrough, the Andhra Pradesh crime investigation department (CID) on Saturday arrested the chairman and three directors of the Prudential Co-operative Urban Bank.
The bank's chairman Boorugu Muralidhar and three directors-G V Nair, P Vittal Rao and P R Mohan have been arrested for alleged involvement in financial irregularities.
Criminal cases have been booked against the chairman, CEO B Pullaiah and directors for causing losses to depositors by their illegal acts, a police spokesman said.
On a complaint lodged by the bank's administrator E Satyanarayana Rao, appointed by the government, CID took up investigations and discovered that the management of the oldest bank in the co-operative sector had misled the RBI by furnishing false information in its balance sheet, the official said.
? Business Standard, India
Thai profits drop
Onsri Moonkaew, president of the Teen-Jok Weaving Mae Jam Women's Co-operative in Mae Jam district in Chiang Mai, had a depressed look after seeing figures showing that sales in the last 11 months have dropped to about 500,000 baht (approx. £ 7,500) from more than one million baht in the previous year.
A lack of working capital and support from local administrations are two factors behind the sales drop.
But higher costs attributed to a change in location are also hurting sales, with the co-operative now located at Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest mountain, about 130 kilometres southwest of Chiang Mai.
A positive development in the past year has been funding from a Japanese aid programme. All sales are now made just through its weaving and distribution centre built with a grant from Japan's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects Scheme (GGP).
The grant, which totalled US$69,400 (approx. £ 44,700), was provided to the co-operative in February last year for the construction of a two-storey training centre with training rooms on the first and second floors, two workshop rooms on the second floor, 40 industrial sewing machines and an overhead projector.
? Bangkok Post, Thailand
A co-op full of beans
In 1998, members of JustUs! Coffee Roasters Co-op were roasting about 800 kilograms of coffee beans a week during peak times. Today, five years later, it is roasting 410 kilograms per day.
The co-op is currently located in a former farm market building in Grand Pré. When it moved, members thought the building would be sufficient for a few years.
However, the operation needs to expand again. Plans call for the building to be almost doubled in size, from 4,000 to 7,000 square feet, so production can be increased and more product can be stored on site.
? The Atlantic Co-operator, Canada
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