Catholic laity bank in India marks centenary year

(May 11, 2011) “A bank started by Catholic laity in southern India’s Karnataka State is marking its centenary year with special programs to help poor Christians. The Mangalore Catholic Cooperative Bank (MCCB) on Tuesday, launched its “Own a Car” program for Christian drivers. Experienced Christian drivers can avail themselves of this scheme, provided they can meet 20 percent of a car’s cost, bank vice president Edward Nazareth told a function in Mangalore to launch the centenary year. The bank will get the rest through easy installments at two percent annual interest, he added.
Bank president Melwyn D’Cunha said the bank started with 76 Catholic shareholders in 1912. Now it has 16 branches in two districts with total deposits of 1.7 billion rupees (US$37.8 million). He said numerous Catholics in Mangalore came forward to help the bank survive the financial melt down late last decade. He said that all the 107 bank employees are Catholics and more than 60 percent are women. Women also head 50 percent of the bank branches, he added.
The bank has planned other schemes and programs to mark the centenary year. The “Feel Secure Centenary Deposit” gives special incentive interest to customers, who deposit more than 100,000 rupees in the next two months.
The bank plans to launch a campaign to get every Catholic family in Mangalore to open an account.