Bank merger to deprive Bengal: Mamata

Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the merger of Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank and United Bank of India (UBI) with Punjab National Bank (PNB) will deprive Bengal. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she urged the government not to act in haste without proper consultation and due diligence.
“I am afraid that city-based headquarters of UBI and Allahabad Bank might be shifted to Delhi and Chennai,” she wrote.
PNB’s headquarters is in Delhi while that of Indian Bank is in Chennai. UBI has 875 branches and Allahabad Bank has 562 branches across the state, thus these large number of branches will be put at risk, the CM wrote.
The CM feared the merger could lead to moving out the bank headquarters out of Kolkata. She wrote that she is concerned about the future of 6,598 employees of UBI and 4,201 employees of Allahabad Bank. “I apprehend that the jobs of the employees of Allahabad Bank and UBI will be put at risk. My fear arises from the fact that out of 80,000 employees of associated banks merged with SBI, 3,500 employees had to opt for voluntary retirement. Out of the 1500 branches of associated banks which were closed, 80 were located in the state,” she wrote.
The CM said that in a federal structure it is imperative to consult the state governments and political parties before taking any decision of this magnitude. She stated that UBI formed in 1914 in Kolkata is the convenor of state level banking committee(SLBC) and through SLBC, the state government had been able to provide loans to the MSME sector, self help groups and farmers’ credit society.
“Equally intriguing is downgrading of UCO Bank from a national bank to a regional bank, which has its headquarters in Kolkata. This indicates a hidden agenda to deprive Bengal’s banking sector,” the CM stated.
She further wrote: “I am alarmed by the Credit Suisse report which opined that the merger of 10 public sector banks (PSB) into four entities is an ominous sign and is unlikely to revive credit growth and the move is primarily to lower Centre’s burden of capital infusion into the PSB already reeling under liquidity crunch.”