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Bank employees and officers' are making their last ditch effort to prevent the SBI Associates' Bank merger with State Bank of India (SBI).
Top brass of two representative bodies - AIBEA and AIBOA - met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Saturday and requested him to reconsider the merger decision.
The Union Cabinet had recently given an in-principle nod for merger of five SBI Associate Banks with SBI.
AIBEA and AIBOA had conveyed their strong protest and concern about the proposed consolidation and merger moves, especially in respect of Associate Banks. “We pointed out that the closure of these banks and merger with SBI are not warranted and hence avoidable”, C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association, told BusinessLine.
They conveyed to Jaitley that consolidation should not be priority of the Government now when banks are facing serious challenges of huge bad loans. The urgent need is to take immediate effective steps to recover these bad loans and strengthen the banks, Venkatachalam noted.
On his part, Jaitley is understood to have explained the policies and approach of the government to make Indian banks' more stronger and globally visible.
With Government unlikely to relent to bank employees' demands, the members of AIBEA and AIBOA have decided to go ahead with its earlier planned agitation programmes including strike in the five SBI Associate banks on July 12 and in all banks on July 13, Venkatachalam said.
Besides Venkatachalam, those who met Jaitley include Rajen Nagar, President, AIBEA, S.S.Shisodia, President, AIBOA and S Nagarajan, General Secretary,AIBOA.
D Raja, National Secretary, CPI, and Member of Parliament was also present in the meeting.
Srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in
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