AIBEA to resist merger of three PSBs, says its aim is to protect defaulters

Association picks holes in merger of associates with SBI to build a case against amalgamation of BoB, Vijaya and Dena

The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) is planning to resist the move to merge three public sector banks -- Bank of Baroda, Dena and Vijaya -- claiming it is an attempt to camouflage the mess of bad loans attributed to corporate borrowers.

A special meeting of office bearers of All India Bank of Baroda Employees' Co-ordination Committee, All India Dena Bank Employees Co-ordination Committee and Vijaya Bank Workers' Organisation, held in Ahmedabad on Thursday, discussed the Centre's decision to merge the three banks and decided to resist the move.

"The meeting was clear in its understanding that the Government's decision on amalgamation of the three Banks is misplaced, given the experience of the merger of associate banks with State Bank of India last year," said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary of AIBEA.

Neither has SBI become bigger nor has any gain accrued, AIBEA said. On the other hand, branches are shutting down, employees are declared surplus, fresh employment is jeopardised, existing business has been lost, focus on NPAs has taken a backseat with the result that NPA has gone up enormously from Rs 1,770 billion as on March 31, 2017 to Rs 2,250 billion as on March, 2018. The merger only helped swell bad loans, the organisation added.

"Similarly, the proposed decision to amalgamate the three banks is only a diversionary tactic of the government. The banks have had to bear huge haircuts -- 40 per cent in the case of Bhushan Steels, 60 per cent in Electrosteel, and 83 per cent in Alok Industries," Venkatachalam said.

The meeting passed resolutions to oppose the "unwanted and unjustified merger" of the three banks, prepare the membership by mobilising them to participate in strikes and other protests chalked out by the employees unions UFBU and AIBEA, take all necessary steps to protect the jobs and job security and prepare these employees' organisations for all eventualities in their struggle against the merger, said AIBEA in a statement issued on Friday.