All India Strike in 5 Associate Banks against closure of Associate Banks and take over by SBI

Ludhiana, May 20, 2016: Continuing Protest, today State Sector Bank Employees Association observed one day strike and held a massive demonstration to protest against adoption of resolution of merger of Associate Banks in SBI.
Com Naresh Gaur, Secretary, SSBEA and All India State Bank of Patiala Employees Federation addressed the bank employees. Com. Ashok Malhan, Vice President, All India State Bank of Patiala Employees Federation, Com Pawan Thakur, President, Com Rajesh Verma, Vice President, Com Balwant Rai, Assistant Secretary and Com.Ashwani Singla, Organising Secretary, Punjab Bank Employees Federation (Ludhiana) also addressed the bank employees.
While addressing the bank employees, Com. Gaur said that today, in the Board meetings of the 5 Associate Banks i.e. State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) and State Bank of Patiala (SBP) held urgently in Mumbai, without any prior intimation, suddenly an agenda was brought in the Board meeting at the dictates of SBI to close down the Associate Banks and for acquisition by the SBI.
Despite opposition and protest by all the AIBEA’s Workman Directors and few other independent Directors, about the proposal and the procedure adopted, the Resolution has been approved in this regard.
It is shameful that when the Government is talking of corporate governance and good governance, Board agenda is brought without intimation on such a serious matter and decision is taken.
This decision is also not in consonance with what the Finance Minister has suggested in our meeting with him on 23rd March and 25th April. He opined that all the 5 Banks can be made into one single entity. But what SBI and the Associate Banks are trying to do is the opposite to what the FM had suggested.
The leaders said the history and position of five Associate Banks is under:
(Rs. In crores)
Bank Name Yrs. Deposits Advances Total Business
State Bank of Hyderabad 75 139,300 114,000 253,300
State Bank of Patiala 99 105,800 85,900 191,700
State Bank of Bikaner & 70 93,300 74,700 168,000
Jaipur
State Bank of Travancore 70 100,400 67,000 167,400
State Bank of Mysore 103 70,200 55,400 125,600
Associate Banks have more than 67000 branches and 9000 ATMs. The total business of these Banks as on March 2016 is Rs. 900,000 crores with Operative Profit of Rs. 10,500 crores. 73,000 employees and officers (45,000 + 28,000) are working in thee Banks. Merger of these Bank with SBI will result in closure of many branches and employees rendered surplus. Hence public will be affected and employees will be affected. The concerned State Governments i.e. Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telengana and Punjab will lose revenue because they not get a share in the tax on profits paid by these Banks.
The whole idea is to make State Bank of India as a very big Bank of global size. What India needs is strong and good Banks and not big banks. In USA we have seen very Banks have collapsed like a pack of cards. Very big Banks will tend to become insensitive to the needs of the common people and thus will help only the big business. Because SBI is the parent Bank it cannot kill its subsidiary banks for its growth and expansion. Hungry parents cannot murder their children.
That is why we are demanding that Associate Banks be made independent Banks and be de-linked from SBI.
“To express our resentment and protest to this provocative action of the SBI and Associate Banks, we are holding demonstrations and observing strike in Associate Banks today”, they said, adding “There will be further strikes on 7th June & 28th July 2016”.