The present times see the transformation of a cooperative bank to a private sector one become more of a necessity for them than a choice they make. Such is a thought felt by the Chairman of the largest urban cooperative bank of the country, Saraswat Cooperative Bank.

Mr Eknath Keshav Thakur, Chairman, Saraswat Coop Bank says conversion into a private bank is more of a compulsion for his bank.

With transformation to a private bank, critical problems like raising capital which is a constricted phenomenon under cooperative rule book would become easier for the bank and also open its way to competition amongst big peers in the industry.

In its present structure, the bank has laid plans of achieving business in figures of Rs Rs 50,000 crore by end-March 2016 and Rs 1 lakh crore by end-March 2021. However longer term plans might feel the pain of constricted capital raising norms in the present scenario.

"Changing into a private sector bank, therefore, is not a choice but a compulsion because there is no headroom in capital. If our capital adequacy ratio (CAR) goes below 9 or 10 per cent then the RBI will not allow us to do business," said Mr Thakur said.