The Hindu Business Line : No moves yet on merger of other associates: SBH

Hyderabad, Dec. 4 There is no concrete development yet on the issue of merger of State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) with State Bank of India, according to Mr Amitabha Guha, Managing Director, State Bank of Hyderabad.

Incidentally the employees and officers’ associations’ of the associated banks are on a two-day strike from Monday in protest against the merger of associate banks with SBI.

“`To the best of my knowledge, the SBI board has only approved the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with SBI and no firm decision has been taken on the merger of SBH or no road map is given as yet,” Mr Guha told Business Line here on Tuesday.

The bank had taken all measures to minimise the impact of a two-day strike of the employees and officers of the associated banks of SBI. The bank has requested the Reserve Bank of India to make alternative arrangements for clearing during the strike period. We also kept all ATMs fully loaded for the last two days. Out of 474 ATMs, only 35 were cash outs by this evening,” Mr Guha said.

Union’s stance

Albeit there is no move on merger with regard to any associate banks including SBH presently, the Associate Bank Officers Union sees the need for a big protest on the issue. About 4880 branches of SBI associated banks remained closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the strike.

“`The way in which the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra with SBI was initiated calls for the need for an early protest. None of the associations was involved in the merger decision and even top executives were also kept in the dark till the eleventh hour. We want to prevent such a situation and hence decided to go on strike,” Mr M. Harshavardhan, General Secretary, Associate Banks Officers Association, SBH Unit, said.

“The merger of the associate banks is contrary to the statement of the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on the need to protect the regional flavour of the banks. We see no need for the merger,” he said.

Probable impact

According to a senior bank official who did not want to be quoted, a merger with SBI would mean long waits for promotions as one had to compete with entire list of SBI rolls. Further, the modalities such as appraisals are more conservative and tough in SBI than many of the associate banks. “But financially, there is absolutely no loss in the event of merger for any associate bank,” he pointed out.