4 Bank Unions Raise Concern Over Unwarranted Pressure for Loans by bjp run municipal body at UP

Four large unions of bank officer have expressed concern over unwarranted pressure by municipal functionaries to grant and disburse loans in Uttar Pradesh (UP). In a letter to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the unions have urged necessary administrative measures to stop the unwarranted interference by the functionaries at the grass-roots level.

The letter is signed by general secretaries of All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), Indian National Bank Officers’ Congress (INBOC) and National Organization Of Bank Officers (NOBO).

The letter says, "...at some places the functionaries of the municipal corporations are visiting bank branches and creating a bitter atmosphere of confrontation by their intervention in the banking activities, particularly related to the implementation of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme." 

 

"In some cases, the bank officials have been threatened with dire consequences including disruption of banking services and administrative actions too like filing of first information report (FIR). The unbecoming and highhanded behaviour of these functionaries have created a very bad precedent of interference in the professional interests of the Bank as well of its employees," it says.

 

Moreover, the letter from the bank officers’ unions says, "It has created an atmosphere of terror which demoralises and demotivates the bank employees at every level. It has fuelled widespread resentment across the entire banking fraternity which could lead to potential industrial unrest for which the perpetrators of the atrocities would be held squarely responsible."

 

According to the unions, nationalised banks are the medium through which the union and state governments roll out different schemes. The implementation of these schemes and their performance are also reviewed and monitored by supervisors in the internal hierarchy of the banks with due seriousness, as well as by the different committees formed by the government. All the banks are allowed autonomy to decide on the proposals received in a professional manner based on their merit, feasibility, and economic viability, it added. 

 

"Any interference in the process can only vitiate the atmosphere and jeopardise the interests of all stakeholders," the letter says, adding, "Nationalised banks are autonomous bodies involved in the nation building activities to boost the economy of the country and they need to be treated with due respect by the local government functionaries for their professional conduct."

 

"We solicit your immediate attention in this matter and hope that your good office will issue peremptory instructions to the state administration down the line to protect the integrity, autonomy and peace at banking establishments throughout the state," the letter sent by AIBOC, AIBOA, INBOC and NOBO to CM Yogi Adityanath says.