Governance problems, not market challenges, are the main reason behind the repeated crises in Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), said Vishram Dixit, CEO of Nashik Merchants Cooperative Bank. He called for a “governance renaissance” to bring back strength and trust in the cooperative banking sector.

Dixit said that though UCBs serve more than 8 crore customers and hold about 5% of India’s total banking business, many of them still struggle with weak management, poor compliance, and lack of skilled staff. “Governance and compliance are not obstacles-they actually help banks grow and build trust,” he said.

Referring to RBI data for FY 2024–25, Dixit noted that UCBs faced the highest number of penalties among all regulated banks. Most issues, he said, were due to weak risk assessment, Board int

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