CBoP Merger Row: LKB staff on indefinite strike

Employees of Lord Krishna Bank (LKB) have gone on an indefinite strike from today demanding the intervention of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the ministry of finance to stop the merger of the bank with Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBoP).

The United Forum of LKB Unions (UFLU), a common platform of four major trade unions of the bank, has demanded a complete withdrawal of the decision taken on September 4. It has also demanded that the bank should be merged with a public sector bank immediately instead of a private bank. 

S K Sanil of UFLU told Business Standard that the strike paralysed the functioning of all the branches of the bank in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and partially affected the branches in Karnataka, Mumbai and Delhi.

The boards of the two banks had approved a swap ratio of 5:7 according to which shareholders of LKB would receive seven shares of CBoP for every five shares held. The merger is expected to come into effect once the proposal is approved by the RBI. The banks will hold extraordinary general meetings in the next one month to seek the approval of the shareholders. 

Various political leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, have demanded the withdrawal of the move and sought the merger of the bank with a nationalised bank. The Chief Minister has also sent a letter to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister in this regard.