Bank of Maharashtra employee unions write to Finance Minister seeking clarity on privatisation

Two employee unions of state-run Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) have written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking clarification on the government’s stand on privatisation of the Pune-based lender.

Recently, there were media reports that the government wants to expedite privatisation of four state-run banks including Bank of Maharashtra and UCO Bank

In the letter, written by All India Bank of Maharashtra Employees Federation (AIBOMEF) and Bank of Maharashtra Officers Association (BOMOA), the unions wrote that the said media report has created uncertainties in the minds of bank’s employees and customers.

There are forthcoming reports about customers withdrawing deposits from some of the bank’s branches, the unions said.

“These media news are worrisome more particularly on the background of unfortunate developments that took place in the financial sector recently,” the unions wrote in the letter while mentioning instances such as moratorium that was imposed on “Yes Bank, expulsion of former MD of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and failure of various urban cooperative banks, more particularly failure of PMC Bank”.

Bank of Maharashtra, is convener of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) in the state and has a network of about 1,832 branches spread over 28 states and six Union Territories, of which 1,044 branches are in rural and semi-urban locations.

In the state alone, the lender has 1,125 branches, of which 462 are located in rural areas. It has presence in backward areas of the state such as Marathwada, Vidharbha and Konkan, the unions said.

The bank has also sponsored Maharashtra Gramin Bank, which operates with a branch network of about 412 branches of which 335 branches are in the backward areas of Marathwada. The bank has become the lifeline of the state, they said.

“We earnestly request you to please clarify on the government’s position on this and give assurance to the customers of the bank so as to end uncertainties in the minds of depositors and to arrest distractions in the business of the bank,” the unions said.

While AIBOMEF is affiliated to All India Bank Employees Association, BOMOA is affiliated to All India Bank Officers Association.

Article published in Financial Expres dated 08.09.2020