central bankers ’ speeches 23. today ’ s customers have more awareness about their rights and demand transparency in our banking system. leveraging the technology, every cooperative bank should provide on its website where customer can access information about products, procedures, forms, fees / charges, annual reports, etc. customers should have the facility to communicate to the bank through e - mails. transparency will improve confidence of customers, bank ’ s image and reduce complaints. 24. cooperative banks are now functioning in a highly competitive environment. entry of more players in the banking arena and technology have increased options to customers and banks have both opportunities to grow and challenges for survival. cooperative banks with their intimate knowledge of customers and familiarity with the area of operation can attract new customers and retain the existing clientele with their unique selling proposition. however, this can be achieved only with suitable changes in outlook, processes, business model and strategy. part ii rural cooperatives : re - positioning exalted status 25. co - operatives are an exalted position in india. how and why do i say so? there are very many types of economic entities like a proprietary firm, partnership firm, society, trust, company, body corporate, beside the cooperative. of these, which one has got mentioned in the constitution of india? it is cooperatives. that too, not just a passing mention ; but, a full section on how cooperatives have to be formed, governed and operated has been incorporated as a part of our constitution, thanks to 93rd amendment. 26. not only that, you look at the very many five year plan documents – they are replete with strong references to the contribution of cooperatives, the role and expectations from cooperatives. to quote a few of them – the second five - year plan ( 1956 – 1961 ), emphasized “ building up a cooperative sector as part of a scheme of planned development ” as being one of the central aims of national policy. the third five year plan ( 1961 – 1969 ) stressed that “ cooperation should become, progressively, the principal basis of organization in branches of economic life, notably agriculture, minor irrigation, small industries and processing, marketing, distribution, rural electrification, housing and construction and provision of essential amenities for local communities. even the medium and large industries and in transport an increasing range of activities can be undertaken on cooperative lines ”. the eighth five year plan ( 1992 – 1997 ) laid emphasis on building up the cooperative movement as a selfmanaged, self - regulated and

broader portfolio level was not exhibiting any major signs of stress, the consistent high credit growth reported in the above segments warranted regulatory intervention. accordingly, certain quantitative and qualitative measures were undertaken from a macro - prudential perspective. as regulators, we would want to ensure continuous vigil to mitigate risks emerging from both within and the periphery of the financial eco - system. for example, the digital lending guidelines issued by the reserve bank envisage that regulated entity undertakes the due diligence required for lending decisions even when the loan is being sourced through a lending service provider ( lsp ). the increased reliance of banks / nbfcs to identify and onboard borrowers through fintech partners should not mean lowering of underwriting standards and improper pricing of risks. as a regulator and supervisor, we are examining the prevailing models and practices to see how best they could be leveraged for effective credit delivery, without compromising on risk management and prudential credit underwriting standards. concluding thoughts i would like to stress here that what has been shared so far is an illustration of some of the key areas of regulatory focus. at the same time, there are several other aspects which continue to be on the regulatory radar. i am sure, through a collective, consultative and collaborative approach, it would be possible to frame appropriate set of policy measures to address the current and emerging challenges. through this process, we should be able to build a stable and resilient financial system which shall meet the emerging needs of our country in an effective manner. to conclude, let me emphasize once again that even as the financial landscape evolves and transforms, the underlying principles of good governance, robust risk management, effective compliance, customer protection and responsible business conduct will be increasingly relevant. a robust culture within the organisation which delivers financial services while embracing these principles will stand the system and the institutions in good stead in the long run. 6 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches namaskaar!! the inputs provided by pradeep kumar, peshimam khabeer ahmed and pramanshu rajput are gratefully acknowledged. 1 rbi speech : no more a shadow ( of a ) bank - available at https : / / rbi. org. in / scripts / bs _ speechesview. aspx? id = 1416 2 changing paradigms in the financial landscape - available at https : / / rbi. org. in / scripts / bs _ speechesview. aspx? id = 139