Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D Raja today voiced his opinion against proposed Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) merger with DBS Bank India.
“Why (there is) such a hurry is not clear to anyone. The government should thoroughly enquire into the matter and stop the handing over of LVB to DBS Bank,” Raja asserted.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank, the 94-year-old Tamil Nadu-based private lender, has been making losses for the past few years due to mismanagement and bad loans given to known defaulters such as Jet Airways, Religare, Cox and Kings, Coffee Day, Nirav Modi and Reliance Housing Finance. Instead of taking action on the erring top officials, the Reserve Bank has announced that the bank will be handed over to DBS Bank of Singapore, Raja said.
He added that in the larger interest of the bank's depositors and customers, as well as its retail investors, it is desirable to merge LVB with a public sector bank as has been done in many cases in the past.
"Handing over the bank to foreign bank smacks of the governments agenda to appease foreign investors. Further, within an hour of declaring the LVB moratorium, RBI has come out with the proposal to merge the lender with DBS Bank, which clearly indicates that the matter was already decided by the RBI," said Raja.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU