Banks May Work Extended Hours On April 11

Bowing to public demand, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to grant relief to bank customers during the long period of holidays in April. It may ask banks to keep their doors open to customers for extra hours on a working day in the midst of the holidays.

Chances are that the banks may work extra hours on a Saturday to provide some relief to customers who otherwise would be deprived of banking facilities for as many as seven consecutive days.

The series of bank holidays will begin on Wednesday, April 8, a holiday on account of Bakri Id, followed by Mahavir Jayanti the next day. Banks would remain closed on April 10 on account of Good Friday. Although April 11 is a working day, since it is a Saturday this would mean that the banks would be open to the public only for two hours. Monday, April 13, too is a working day but is followed by another holiday on Tuesday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti. It is felt that a majority of the bank staff will not turn up for duty on Monday. This will cripple the banks customer services. In effect, then, the banks will have a seven-day holiday during the month depriving customers of their services.

 

Following representations by several consumer bodies and trade associations, the central bank is believed to have taken a view that banks could be asked to work a few extra hours on a working day during this period. According to sources, the most logical choice would be April 11, which is a Saturday.

On that day banks may work for four hours instead of the usual two. Bankers recall a similar situation had arisen in 1995. In fact, one working day in the middle of seven-day holiday that year too was subsequently declared a holiday on account of the death of Morarji Desai, the former prime minister. The RBI had then asked the banks to work extra hours on a Saturday.

Reacting to the possibility of banks working for an extended period on Saturday, the official spokesperson of a leading merchants chamber said this would be the right approach on the part of the central bank.