Co-operation · Ch 2 — Correspondence of the Secretary of Co-operative Society
Correspondence with Banks
Correspondence with Banks
A registered co-operative society, being a body corporate, keeps its money in a bank account operated in the society's name, and it may borrow from a bank or lend and invest as its business requires. All of the society's dealings with its bank are carried on in writing, and the secretary — as the authorised correspondent — is the officer who conducts this bank correspondence on the strength of the managing committee's resolutions. Correct bank correspondence is important because it involves the society's money, and a bank will act only on properly authorised written instructions.
The usual occasions for correspondence with the bank can be seen together.
| Occasion | Nature of the communication |
|---|---|
| Opening an account | Letter requesting the bank to open a current, savings, or fixed-deposit account in the society's name, enclosing the committee's resolution and specimen signatures of authorised signatories |
| Operating the account | Instructions to honour cheques signed by the authorised office-bearers, and intimation of any change in signatories |
| Deposits and fixed deposits | Letters placing surplus funds in fixed deposit, or renewing, or prematurely encashing a deposit, as the committee decides |
| Loans and overdrafts | Application for a loan, cash credit, or overdraft, with the required documents, and correspondence about repayment |
| Stop-payment and queries | Instructions to stop payment of a cheque, requests for statements of account or pass-book entries, and correction of discrepancies |
| Confirmation of balance | Correspondence confirming the balance of the account, often required at the time of audit |
Written communication between the society and its bank — for opening and operating accounts, placing and renewing deposits, applying for loans, cash credit or overdrafts, stopping payment of cheques, obtaining statements, and confirming balances — conducted by the secretary on the …
The office-bearers whom the managing committee has, by resolution, authorised to sign cheques and other instruments and to operate the society's bank account; the bank acts on the society's instructions only when these persons and their specimen s …