Bad loans reason for public banks' bad health: Staff union

Bad health of public sector banks (PSBs) is due to accumulation of bad loans that resulted from an "unholy nexus between corrupt politicians, corporate houses and a section of top bank executives", leaders of a bank staff union said on Thursday.

Privatisation and merger are not the solutions, they said.

Protesting the comments of Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel and a Deputy Governor who advocated privatisation and merger of public sector banks, Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) West Bengal unit submitted a representation to the apex bank's Regional Director here on Thursday.

"... they are preoccupied with the idea that privatisation and merger is the panacea for all problems of PSBs. They want to ignore that the main reason is huge accumulation of bad loans, a result of an unholy nexus between corrupt politicians, corporate houses, and a section of top executives of PSBs," BEFI Secretary Joydeb Dasgupta said.

It also reminds us of the role of present RBI Governor, unbecoming of the head of an autonomous institution, during the November 8 demonetisation, Dasgupta added.

The union demanded revealation on the names of top corporates who are willful defaulters.

Federation General Secretary Pradip Biswas said: "The union will be free not to sign a final revival plan if it contains any provision for closure of branches, dilution of government holding and curtail of any of the existing rights and privileges of the employees."

--IANS

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