Another Gujarat bank now has Maharashtra ownership

The much-awaited RBI nod for the merger was given on October 16, when the Central bank cancelled banking licence of the Manekchowk Bank and granted branch licence to the ACB. The Manekchowk Bank was in news for quite some time and its liquidation was on the cards when the ACB made the bid to bag the jewellers’ bank.

While Manekchowk chairman Girish Choksi was not available for comment, sources in the bank said that its liabilities are being worked out at present. None of the 100-odd staff will be laid off even as fresh ACB nominees have replaced the entire board of directors of the Manekchowk Bank, they said.

The merger has cost the ACB Rs 22 crore. The Manekchowk Bank has a capital base of Rs 30 crore, deposits Rs 23 crore and advances, Rs 17 crore. On the other hand, the ACB, which was established in 1964 with a deposit base of Rs 5,000 and 83 members, now has a deposit base of Rs 2,600 crore, which grew by Rs 500 crore from the previous year.

The ACB had acquired the Shrikrishna Bank in Vadodara in June and the Janta Sahakari Bank, Udupi in August this year. It now has over 1.10 lakh members. With the acquisition, ACB will now have 71 branches across the country.