Cooperative rural banking: Anad shows the growth - Oriented path

Abstract

This paper is about how Anand Farmers Service Cooperative Bank could be successful under the same macro rural credit policies that governed most rural financial institutions. This bank is innovative in both the spirit of its cooperation and rural banking. It could be so because of (1) strategy of nothing succeeds like success howsoever small it is, (2) organizational continuity that has made this bank democratic, decentralized and yet accountable, and (3) organizational principles of vertical structure, high density, larger reach and diversified services for rural clientele. The paper also shows that these three factors have enabled this bank to be financially viable and growth-oriented. And it concludes with some suggestions on what macro rural credit policies may continue and which ones of them need modifications to extend the experiment of this bank.