PSU banks merger woes: Bank officers associations to meet in Delhi on 5 September

Hyderabad: Opposing the merger of banks, officers associations of various banks will meet in the national capital on 5 September to chalk out the future course of action, a top official of All India Andhra Bank Officers Association said here on Tuesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week announced the merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank with Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank, while Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will merge with Union Bank of India. Besides, Indian Bank will be merged with Allahabad Bank, making it the seventh-largest state-owned bank. Andhra Bank is the second city-based bank which will lose its geographical identity. [caption id=“attachment_7023271” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Earlier, State Bank of Hyderabad, an associate bank of State Bank of India was merged with its parent organisation in April 2017. “We are opposing the merger of banks. We will organise various protest programs against the merger. On 5 September, the Executive Committee of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOA) will meet in Delhi. All the general secretaries of all banks’ officers associations will meet there and finalize the action program to oppose the merger,” Satyanarayana told PTI. The city-based Andhra Bank was founded by eminent freedom fighter Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya. The Bank was registered in November 1923 and commenced business in the same month with a paid-up capital of Rs one lakh and an authorised capital of Rs 10 lakh. Currently, the public sector lender has 2,900 branches across the country with 21,000 employees, including 11,000 officers. “The bank was not started for commercial gains, but for a social purpose. It has completed 96 years,“Satyanarayana said. Following the officers’ bodies meeting, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body of nine banking sector trade unions, will meet on 11 September to announce their plan of action against the merger, he said. In FY19, Andhra Bank did a total business of Rs 3,98,511 crore. Total Income for the 2018-19 fiscal stood at Rs 20,977 crore. It suffered a loss of Rs 2786.12 crore for the year.