Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Loans of cooperatives under risk



The cooperatives investing with shares as guarantee violating the regulations are under risk after being unable to recover the loans.
The cooperatives, capitalizing on poor monitoring, are investing with shares of banks and financial institutions kept for surety. The Cooperative Standard 2011 issued by the Department of Cooperatives (DOC) prohibits the cooperatives from mobilizing loans by keeping share ownership certificates as guarantee. The DOC officials concede that loans have been given to the members against this provision and the institutes, themselves, have also invested in shares. Deputy Registrar at DOC Upendra Bahadur Dhungana stated that investment was made when the share market was bullish for greed of quick bucks and the risks have increased as the loans have not been recovered now. He stated that most of the loans were mobilized before 2011 as mobilizing loans with shares as guarantee was stopped only in 2011.
“Many cooperative invested on share guarantee when the capital market was rising. The risk has increased now in lack of recovery as the market is on a downward trend.” He revealed that the cooperatives investing on shares violating the standards have been called to DOC and directed to return the investment. He claimed that DOC will initiate action if the investment is not recovered within the given deadline. The cooperatives have published notices of auction of shares as the money invested in cooperatives turned bad.  
The Economy Saving and Credit Cooperative had issued a notice for auction after one Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha did not repay loan taken with the shares of Nepal Sri Lanka Merchant and Finance kept as surety. The Samjhana Multi-purpose Cooperative of Jamal has also issued a 35-day public notice to repay the loan after Shrestha failed to repay the loans taken with shares as guarantee. Samjhana has also issued a 35-day notice in the names of Binu Shrestha, Jane Shrestha, Dev Bahadur Shrestha, Rameshwore Shrestha and Laxmi Shrestha to repay the loans taken with shares kept as guarantee.
The cooperatives have been investing with guarantee of shares and other sectors due to poor monitoring and action by the government. The deposits of general public have also come under risk as the cooperatives have mobilized loans with shares kept as guarantee, invested on shares of companies similar in nature to the cooperatives, procuring shares of the companies where the promoters have invested and being involved in the realty sector. The cooperatives have even formed a commercial network and are investing in housing, hospitals, schools, colleges, airline companies and investment companies in the name of cooperatives.
Nepal Financial and Chandragiri Cooperatives, earlier, have been found to have issued loans on surety of good for payment checks against the legal provisions. The promoters of cooperatives, on their part, complained that there was lesser scope for investment in the urban areas and the standards have made it difficult even where the scope for investment is big. They argue that all the cooperatives in the urban areas will face shut down if all the provisions of the standards were to be implemented. Around 27,000 cooperatives, contributing over 15 percent to the financial sector, have mobilized around Rs 200 billion.    

मापदण्डविपरीत सेयर धितोमा कर्जा दिँदै सहकारी

असुल गर्न नसकेपछि ऋण लगानी जोखिममा

काठमाडौं, २१ जेठ- मापदण्डविपरीत सेयर धितोमा कर्जा लगानी गरेका सहकारीहरू ऋण असुल गर्न नसक्दा जोखिममा परेका छन् । कमजोर अनुगमनको फाइदा उठाउँदै सहकारीहरूले बैंक तथा वित्तीय संस्थाका साथै अन्य क्षेत्रका कम्पनीको सेयर धितोमा ऋण लगानी गरिरहेका छन् ।
सहकारी विभागले लागू गरेको ‘सहकारी मापदण्ड–२०६८’ मा सहकारीले सेयर प्रमाणपत्र धितो राखेर कर्जा प्रवाह गर्न नपाउने व्यवस्था छ । यो व्यवस्थाविपरीत सदस्यलाई ऋण लगानी गरेको र संस्था आफैंले सेयरमा लगानी गरेको विभागकै अधिकारी स्वीकार्छन् ।

विभागका उपरजिस्ट्रार उपेन्द्रबहादुर ढुंगानाका अनुसार सहकारीले छिटो कमाउने लोभमा सेयर बजार उच्च हुँदा लगानी गरेको र अहिले लगानी असुल नहुँदा जोखिम बढेको बताए । सेयर धितो कर्जा प्रवाह गर्न २०६८ को मापदण्डपछि मात्र रोक लगाइएकाले धेरै कर्जा त्यसभन्दा अघि नै लगानी भएको उनको भनाइ छ ।
“सेयर बजार उकालो चढेका बेला धेरै सहकारीले सेयर धितो कर्जामा लगानी गरे,” ढुंगानाले भने, “अहिले बजार ओरालो लागेसँगै असुल नहुँदा जोखिम बढ्यो ।” सेयरलगायत मापदण्डविपरीत लगानी गरेका संस्थालाई विभागमै बोलाएर लगानी फिर्ता गर्न निर्देशन दिइएको उनले जानकारी दिए । संस्थालाई दिएको समयसीमाअनुसार लगानी फिर्ता नगरे कारबही प्रक्रिया अघि बढाउने उनको भनाइ छ ।
सेयरमा लगानी गरेको रकम खराब् भएपछि सहकारीले धितो लिलामीको सूचना सार्वजनिक गरेका छन् । थापाथलीस्थित इकोनोमी बचत तथा ऋण सहकारीले नेपाल श्रीलंका मर्चेन्ट एन्ड फाइनान्सको सेयर धितोमा ऋण लिएका लक्ष्मीबहादुर श्रेष्ठले ऋण नतिरेपछि लिलामीको सूचना निकालेको छ । सेयर धितो कर्जा नतिरेपछि जमलस्थित सम्झना बहुमुखी सहकारी संस्थाले पनि श्रेष्ठलाई कर्जा भुक्तानी गर्न ३५ दिने म्याद दिएको छ ।
सम्झनाले नै सेयर धितोमा दिएको कर्जा भुक्तानी गर्न बिनु श्रेष्ठ, जेन श्रेष्ठ, देवबहादुर श्रेष्ठ, रामेश्वर श्रेष्ठ र लक्ष्मी श्रेष्ठलाई ऋण तिर्न ३५ दिने म्याद दिएको छ । सहकारीले उनीहरूलाई एनसीसी बैंकको सेयर धितोमा नियमविपरीत कर्जा लगानी गरेको थियो ।
सरकारको अनुगमन र कारबाही कमजोर हुँदा सहकारीले सेयर धितो कर्जाका साथै अन्य क्षेत्रमा समेत लगानी गर्दै आएका छन् । मापदण्डविपरीत संस्थाले प्रवाह गरेकै धितोमा कर्जा प्रवाह गर्ने, आफ्नै प्रकृतिको संस्थाको सेयरमा लगानी गर्ने, संस्थाका सञ्चालकको लगानी रहेको कम्पनीमा सेयर किन्ने र घरजग्गा कारोबारमा लाग्दा सर्वसाधारणको निक्षेपसमेत खतरामा परेको छ । त्यसैगरी सहकारीले व्यापारिक सञ्जालसमेत बनाएर सहकारीका नाममा हाउजिङ, अस्पताल, स्कुल, कलेज, एयरलाइन्स र इन्भेस्टमेन्ट कम्पनीमा समेत लगानी भएको छ ।
यसअघि नेपाल वित्तीय र चन्द्रागिरि सहकारीले पनि कानुनविपरीत ‘गुड फर पेमेन्ट’ चेक धितोमा ऋण लगानी गरेको सार्वजनिक भएको थियो ।
सहकारीका सञ्चालकहरू भने सहरी क्षेत्रमा लगानी गर्ने क्षेत्र कम भएको र भएकोमा पनि मापदण्डले खुम्च्याएको बताउँछन् । मापदण्डका सबै व्यवस्था लागू गरे सहरी क्षेत्रका सहकारी बन्द गर्ने अवस्था आउने उनीहरूको भनाइ छ ।वित्तीय क्षेत्रमा १५ प्रतिशतभन्दा बढी योगदान दिएका २७ हजार सहकारीले २ खर्ब रुपैयाँ परिचालन गरेका छन् ।