All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has opposed the recommendation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) that the government reduce its stake in public sector banks (PSBs) to 33 per cent over the next two to three years.
CH Venkatachalam, AIBEA General Secretary, told BusinessLine that some of the members of CII and other industry bodies are responsible for the bad loans in the banking sector. Terming this recommendation as preposterous, he said: “They (private corporates) take loans. They don’t repay, and make the banks to waive off (loans). Then they are telling the government to privatise the banks.”
He said that the industry bodies are asking the government to privatise the banks to the very same entities whose ‘innovation’ is responsible for the bad loans.
The PSBs continue to extend a bulk of the corporate loans to private firms, who are now blaming the PSBs. “If pubic sector is not good, why do they come here,” he said.
Rather, he said, the CII and other industry bodies should compel their members to repay the bank loans so that the banks can again recycle this money for further lending and development. Those who fail to repay should be expelled from the membership of these bodies, Venkatachalam said.
Urging the CII to withdraw the recommendation, he said they should concentrate on helping the banks to recover the bad loans.
To meet JaitleyStating that the AIBEA is planning to meet the Finance Minister shortly in this regard, he said the association would urge the government to reject this recommendation of the CII.
AIBEA will also ask the government to take tough action on the defaulting members of these industry bodies.
AIBEA reiterates its demand that wilful corporate defaults should be made a criminal offence, he said.