The Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to restore the facility of short-term cash credit limit linked to institutional loans to help expand its lending portfolio.
The request was made by Bank Chairman Davender Singh Shyam and Managing Director Vinay Singh during a courtesy meeting with RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra in Mumbai on Wednesday.
During the meeting, they raised concerns over RBI guidelines issued on November 28, 2025, which had restricted cooperative banks from offering such facilities.
They also thanked the Governor for attending the National Cooperative Conference organised by the bank in Shimla on September 13–14, 2025, held to mark the International Year of Cooperatives. The bank leadership said several demands raised by the cooperative sector during the conference had since been addressed.
The officials said the bank is the state’s premier financial institution and highlighted resource constraints in a small, hilly state like Himachal Pradesh, where opportunities for financing large-scale projects are limited.
They urged the Governor to allow cooperative banks to implement schemes involving institutional loans backed by state government collateral security. They also noted that loans extended under government guarantees have seen no repayment defaults so far.
Governor Malhotra assured them that the matter would be considered sympathetically.
On the occasion, the bank chairman also requested permission to open a branch in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, saying the city serves as a key gateway for Himachal Pradesh and is widely used by residents for healthcare and the marketing of horticultural produce.
He sought special approval for an inter-state branch, and the Governor assured that the proposal would be considered positively.
