Patnaik, who is also president of the National Federation of State Cooperative Banks, told The Financial Express that commercial banks have grabbed about 94 per cent of the total Rs 9500-crore deposits mobilised from Orissa by the entire banking sector in 1997-98. But their credit-deposit ratio has declined to 43 per cent during that year. The share of commercial banks was only 32 per cent of the Rs 295.70 crore loan disbursed for agricultural purpose.

Stating that cooperative banks have done well vis-a-vis commercial banks, Patnaik said cooperative banks maintained a CD ratio of 118 per cent during 1997-98 though the deposit mobilisation was Rs 618 crore that year. Out of the total loans disbursed for agriculture purpose during the year, the share of the cooperative banks was 68 per cent.

Patnaik said thedeposit base of cooperative banks need to be strengthened. If the resource base of the banks is augmented, these institutions would be able to bridge the demand supply gap in the credit delivery system. Patnaik, however, regretted that state-owned PSUs are not complying with the state government's directives that at least 50 per cent of their surplus funds should be parked with cooperative banks.

Inspite of the non-cooperation of the state-owned PSUs, the Orissa State Cooperative Bank has set an ambitious target of mobilising Rs 530-crore deposits during 1999-2000, registering a 27 per cent growth over last year's deposit of Rs 417-crore. In loan and advances, the bank expects to achieve Rs 800 crore to maintain a growth rate of 23 per cent over last year's Rs 649-crore.

According to the managing director of the bank SN Tripathy the operating profit during the current fiscal is expected to be Rs 22 crore against Rs 18 crore in 1998-99. The plan is to reduce the cost of management of the bank to workingfund to 0.71 per cent in 1999-2000 from 0.76 per cent in 1998-99. The bank also proposes to disburse Rs 500 crore in loans to 6 lakh farmers through kisan credit cards.