The Hindu Business Line : Syndicate Bank officers' body opposes merger plan for PSBs

THE Syndicate Bank Officers' Association has opposed the proposal initiated by the Union Finance Minister to merge public sector banks to form a few big entities.

Addressing newspersons here on Friday, the president of the association, Mr Dinker S. Punja, said that such a move is not at all in the interest of banks. Apart from this, it will be detrimental to the interests of the common man.

The three-day fourth triennial conference of the association, which will be held here from Saturday, will deliberate on this issue, he said. The Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, Mr N. Kantha Kumar, will be the chief guest at the conference.

Terming public sector banks as `blood vessels' of Indian economy, the General Secretary of the association, Mr K.S. Shetty, said India could not have attained `economic super structure' status without these banks. The proposed move will have far-reaching consequence on economy. Apart from bringing down the number of branches, it will restrict the banking facilities only to a few people. Banking services in rural areas will also be affected, he said.

Mr Punja charged that the Government is trying to protect some big private banks at the cost of nationalised banks.

The Government dropped the idea of privatising public sector banks because of the persistent efforts of the bank unions, he claimed.

Mr Shetty said that the association is opposed to so-called economic reforms. These reforms have led to large-scale job deprivation and helped in the concentration of wealth. These reforms will only perpetuate the economic hegemony of World Bank and compromise with the sovereignty of the nation, he added.

Around 400 delegates from all over the country are likely to participate in the conference. The President of the All-India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), Mr R.C. Agarwal, and the AIBOC Joint General Secretary, Mr T.R. Bhat, will participate in the conference. The Executive Director of Syndicate Bank, Mr K.M. Shet, will attend the delegates' meet on Sunday.

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