Extension Counter at Haj House

For the last few years, the DCUB has been opening temporary extension counter at the Haj House in Hyderabad to facilitate the Hajis to purchase Saudi Riyals for use during Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The Bank has been extending loans to small businesses and households, including gold loans. The sanction of loans has grown manifold from a mere Rs 14.23 lakhs in 1987-88 to Rs 304.75 crores in 2013-14 financial year. The loan recoveries rose from Rs 4.23 lakhs in 1987-88 to Rs 306.57 crores in 2013-14. The outstanding loans amounted to Rs 198.61 crores at the end of 2013-14.

The DCUB has been getting “A” ranking continuously in audits by the RBI and Cooperative Department. The Bank has proposed to open three more branches in Hyderabad for which permission is awaited. The Bank also proposes to extend its operations to other States by opening branches to emerge as a Multi-State Bank.

Modern Era in Hyderabad

Right since its revival in 1958, ALL INDIA MAJLIS-E-ITTEHADUL MUSLIMEEN (AIMIM) has been striving for economic uplift of the minorities, especially Muslims, and other underprivileged sections. AIMIM has been impressing upon the successive governments in the State to ensure that the minorities are benefited from welfare schemes implemented for various sections of society.

For long, the economic condition of Muslims had been pitiable, with a majority of them steeped in abject poverty. Most Muslims engaged in self-employment and ran small businesses or worked as artisans or in unskilled occupations. Even after the nationalization of banks in 1969, the benefits of priority sector advances for weaker sections were not reaching Muslims due to the uncooperative attitude of bank officials. This meant that the poor Muslims were left to the mercy of usurious money-lenders or greedy pawn-brokers who fleeced them through hefty interest rates. Thus, many Muslims were steeped in heavy debts.

Darussalam Cooperative Urban Bank Launched

Salar-e-Millat Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi had the vision to tackle this problem with a long-term strategy. He founded Darussalam Cooperative Urban Bank (DCUB) in September 1987 to improve the economic condition of underprivileged sections in general and Muslim community in particular. The DCUB was conceived to safeguard Muslims’ deposits and to extend loans to needy Muslims. The DCUB targetted low-income groups—small businessmen, hawkers, auto drivers and other self-employed persons—as its customers.

Spectacular Growth in Deposits and Advances

The DCUB was registered under Section 64 of the Cooperative Societies Act. Over the last 27 years, the Bank has registered spectacular progress. Its deposits and advances have been growing steadily. The total deposits of DCUB have reached Rs 313.85 crores. The total loans and advances crossed Rs 213.04 crores. The total number of customers is 1.3 lakhs.

The total loans sanctioned from 1987 till date aggregated to Rs 2,214.20 crores and the total loans recovered till date amounted to Rs 2,015.58 crores. Not surprisingly, the Bank’s total non-performing assets are only Rs 10.48 crores. The Bank always exceeds the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms for priority sector and weaker section advances. The credit-deposit ratio is kept within the permissible level fixed by the RBI.

The DCUB has six branches now. The Bank took up computerization way back in the year 2000 and all branches were connected with the Bank’s head office and data centre five years ago. The Bank has achieved success by exercising utmost prudence in its operations and by adopting latest banking technology. The Bank has installed ATMs at all its branches. It is introducing Rupay Debit card for the customers.

To safeguard the depositors’ interests, the DCUB has insured deposits with the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation. The Bank holds AD-2 (Authorized Dealer Category 2) license for dealing in foreign exchange and for Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT). The Bank offers all types of accounts, including NRI accounts on par with nationalized banks within the framework of RBI guidelines.