Govt pay accounts can leave SBI

Govt pay accounts can leave SBI

ANINDITA DEY & ABHIJIT LELE / Mumbai April 08, 2006

Purwar urges staff to resume work as strike enters fifth day.

In what could cost the State bank of India a substantial chunk of its business with the government, the Reserve Bank of India has given a blanket permission to all central and state government ministries and organisations to shift their accounts from SBI to other banks of their choice in view of the indefinite strike by SBI employees that entered its fifth day today.

The government of Uttar Pradesh has already transferred its accounts from SBI to Allahabad Bank.

The Maharashtra government is also in the process of shifting the accounts of its treasuries. It is currently gathering district-wise information about branch networks of various public sector banks to decide on the bank to which it transfers its accounts. It expects to finalise the new bankers by Monday.

Out of 255 treasuries, the accounts of 172 are with SBI, 47 with State Bank of Hyderabad and 27 with Bank of India. In Mumbai and Nagpur, the state government has already bypassed SBI network and used the facilities available with RBI, state additional chief secretary, OP Gehrotra, said.

SBI's Managing Director T S Bhattacharya said: