LUDHIANA: On the call given by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), bank employees held a demonstration on Tuesday against the government’s decision to merge three banks. Several union leaders and office bearers of the UFBU Ludhiana unit addressed the agitating employees.
Convenor Naresh Gaur and Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation (PBEF) president Pawan Thakur said that the government announced its decision to merge
Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank advocating its theory that India needs big banks. “However, it is tragic that when the 10th death anniversary of the Lehman brothers is being observed this month, and the myth of too big to fail has been exposed, our government is talking about large-sized banks. Big banks would imply big risks and Indian banks cannot afford to take such risk. Thus, we need strong banks instead of big ones,” Thakur said.
Both the leaders added, “We understand that under the government’s agenda of banking reforms, merger is only a prelude to privatisation of banks. Hence, the move needs to be opposed and resisted at any cost. The major problem with banks today is the huge and mounting bad loans which won’t be solved by mergers. Instead, stringent penalty, including criminal action, is required for recoveries from corporate defaulters and delinquents. Merger of these three banks will not help recover the loans. Moreover, the banks which have existed for nearly a century and have greatly contributed for India’s economy, are being treated as though these are the handmaids of the government.”
Other leaders present during the protest included JP Kalra, Iqbal Singh Malhi, Harvinder Singh, Rajesh Verma, Ashok Arora, JS Mangat, KK Khullar, Gurmeet Singh and Chiranjeev Joshi.