On the occasion of 55th Bank Nationalisation Day, C H Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said, “We oppose any attempts to privatise public sector banks (PSBs). Under pressure of the corporates, the Government wants to privatise PSBs and hand them over to the capitalists so that they can loot and plunder the public savings available in the banks”. AIBEA has been resisting and fighting against this retrograde move of the Government. “If there is any step taken by the Government to proceed with privatisation of public sector banks, immediately, AIBEA will give a call for countrywide strike to oppose such moves,” Venketachalam said. “The banking system touches the lives of millions and has to be inspired by large social purposes and has to subserve national priorities and objectives, such as rapid growth in agriculture, small industries and exports, raising of employment levels, encouragement of new entrepreneurs and the development of the backward areas,” he said.

 

For this purpose, it is necessary for Government to take direct responsibility for the extension and diversification of banking services and for the working of the substantial part of the banking system.” Bank nationalisation transformed the banking sector in a big way. Branches were opened in rural villages. Common masses could access banking services. People’s money in the banks became safe and guaranteed. After five decades, the nationalised banks have become the main engine driving the Indian economy. The total number of public sector bank branches increased from 8,200 in 1969 to 87,000 branches in 2023. “The growth, and contributions of nationalised banks have been phenomenal,” he said. AIBEA demands recovery of bad loans from big companies.

 

The only major problem in the banks today is the increasing bad loans because of the default by big corporate companies. “We have been demanding action against them to recover the loans. But Government is giving them more and more concessions,” he said. For the past 6 years, bad loan accounts are referred to Tribunals under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Instead of loan recovery, these loans are being sold to some other companies for cheap rate and banks have made huge losses. “IBC has become a method to loot public money because banks incur huge hair cuts and sacrifice in these deals,” he pointed out. Giving data of the non performing assets and IBC haircut, as on March, 2023 the PSBs total gross operating profit was Rs 2,28,414 crore, while net profit after provisions was Rs 1,00,814 crore. About 56 per cent of the profits earned by the PSBs goes towards provisions for bad loans and write off of bad loans, etc. This reveals, people’s money is being looted by corporates, informs a press release issued here.