DCC Bank History

His Highness Late Chintamanrao Appasaheb Patwardhan, the ruler of the Sangli State, had a strong desire to implement progressive reforms in the princely state administration and to work for the upliftment of the people. With this vision, experienced and capable officers from the state administration were brought together, and with a share capital of only ₹5,000, the bank was established on 28 March 1927.

Since the establishment of the bank, it was fortunate to have capable managers such as Late Nanasaheb Joshi and Late Madhavrao Bhide. After India gained independence and the princely states were merged, the bank was formally registered on 27 July 1950 as the South Satara District Central Cooperative Bank. In 1951, under the chairmanship of Late Bhagwantrao Daptardar, the first government-appointed board of directors was formed. Later, during 1955–56, elections were held for the bank and a democratically elected board of directors came into existence. Late Rambhau Arwade was elected as Chairman and Late Gulabrao Patil as Vice-Chairman.

During the same period, three sugar factories—Sangli, Warana, and Krishna—were registered. The bank provided substantial financial assistance for purchasing shares in these sugar factories and for sugarcane cultivation. At that time, Y. S. Borgaonkar served as the bank’s manager, after which he was selected for the Reserve Bank of India. Later, P. B. Takvekar served as the manager from 1956 to 1986. In 1956–57, Late Gulabrao Raghunathrao Patil was elected as Chairman of the bank. He successfully held the position for 14 consecutive years. During his tenure, he brought great recognition to the bank and established its reputation across Maharashtra.

In 1957, the foundation stone of the bank’s head office building at Vakhar Bhag, Sangli, was laid by the then Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan. The construction was completed within a year, and the building was inaugurated on 23 February 1958 by B. Venkata Payya, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, under the chairmanship of Chintamanrao Patwardhan.

In 1960, Sangli district became an independent district, and the bank began functioning as the Sangli District Central Cooperative Bank. The bank decided to prioritize the development of cooperative institutions throughout the district. Along with providing agricultural loans to farmers, it also focused on providing medium-term loans for agricultural activities and agricultural development. During this period, the then Chairman Late Gulabrao Patil worked tirelessly to promote various agricultural and allied development schemes among farmers and made continuous efforts to implement new agricultural support schemes through the bank.

During the severe drought of 1972–73, the government appointed a committee under the chairmanship of the economist Late V. M. Dandekar to study the issue of rising loan defaults. Late Gulabrao Patil and Late Bajirao Balaji Patil were members of this committee. Later, several prominent leaders and experts—including Late Vasantdada Patil, Late Rajarambapu Patil, Late Gulabrao Patil, Dr. P. S. Thakur, and Late Vasantrao Arve—encouraged farmers to focus on horticulture, particularly fruit cultivation, which would be beneficial and profitable. The bank made special efforts to promote the cultivation of grape orchards.

From 1970 to 1976, Late Bajirao Balaji Patil served as the Chairman of the bank. Late Gulabrao Patil served on the board of directors for nearly 28–30 years and held the position of Chairman for 14 years. During his tenure, he established the bank’s reputation as a model cooperative bank in the state. In 1977, during his leadership, the Golden Jubilee celebration of the bank was held in the presence of the then Chief Minister Late Dr. Vasantdada Patil and the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Late Balasaheb Desai.

Along with its financial operations, the bank also consciously fulfilled its social responsibilities. It contributed ₹1,00,000 towards the establishment of Shivaji University. The bank also provided financial assistance to various colleges in Sangli district for building construction, laboratories, educational materials, and library development. Similarly, the bank contributed ₹2,00,000 to support the Late Vishnuanna Award, which is presented by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Association.

During 1980–81, the bank faced financial difficulties and incurred losses. As a result, the Reserve Bank of India placed the bank under a rehabilitation program. A rehabilitation committee was formed under the chairmanship of Bapat Saheb, an RBI officer, to determine policies for the bank’s operations and progress. Through the dedicated efforts of the board of directors and the bank’s employees, the bank successfully overcame the crisis and emerged from rehabilitation within one year. After this period, the bank continued to grow rapidly year after year.

Due to the increasing scale of operations, the foundation stone of the present administrative head office building was laid by Late Dr. Vasantdada Patil. Later, the building was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar.