Parsi bank board re-elected for five-year term

Shareholders returned the existing management of Zoroastrian Bank to office for another five-year term Monday. The board won all 13 seats by a comfortable margin at Sunday’s landmark election.

This was the first poll in 23 years to the board of the small community-led cooperative bank. Counting for all ballots held in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Surat took place in South Mumbai Monday.

Chairperson Shernaz Mehta, who had been expecting to have to share the boardroom with at least two or three members of the opposing party, was pleasantly surprised by the landslide. She said, “This is a vindication of our stand. Zoroastrian Bank is among the best managed cooperative banks in the country, you can ask the RBI or anybody else. We score high on all criteria laid down by RBI. All those who claimed the bank was not doing well are disgruntled employees or disgruntled clients.”

Mehta said the bank would attain greater success helmed by the expertise of newly elected members like Homai Daruwala, former head of Central Bank, Aspi Kathawalla who is ex-chief manager of Union Bank as well as
Maneck Kalyaniwalla of a prominent firm of solicitors. Daruwala declined comment.
The seven-member opposition conceded defeat. Contestant Hilla Avari lost by 16 votes. Another candidate Zoru Bhathena said, “The board members fought on a common symbol so they had an advantage. Yet we gave them a tough challenge. I am sure the bank has been sufficiently rattled with this election and will soon get itself back into shape.”

Published on Times of India