Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs):
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed reopening the licensing window for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) after a gap of more than 20 years, seeking stakeholder feedback.Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) are member-owned, community-based banks operating mainly in urban and semi-urban areas, providing banking and credit services to small borrowers, traders, salaried employees and MSMEs.They function on co-operative principles such as mutual help, democratic control (“one member, one vote”), and local participation.The urban co-operative credit movement in India began in the late 19th century, inspired by co-operative experiments in Britain and Germany.The first urban co-operative credit society was registered in Kanchipuram (1904) under the Co-operative Credit Societies Act, 1904.
