Unrestricted FDI in banks opposed

CUTTACK: Bank employees have come out strongly against the move by the Government to allow unrestricted entry of foreign capital in the banking sector in the name of reforms.The move to facilitate infusion of more foreign capital by removing the ceiling on voting rights of foreign investors would completely destabilise the sector by rendering banks vulnerable to takeover by foreign capital. The country’s interest is at stake and the Government’s action would be thwarted by all means, officers and staff under the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) on Sunday asserted.Thousands of delegates attended the one-day State convention of the NCBE, Odisha unit, to deliberate and evolve mechanisms to counter the Government’s attempt to amend laws and rules under the garb of banking sector reforms.Most of the decisions of the Government are against the interest of the working class and the nation as a whole, they stated. The NCBE has also opposed the moves to grant licence to industrial houses to start their own banks. The past experience of such exercise proved counterproductive as the private banks, owned and controlled by industrial houses, had been complete failure due to manipulations, negative contributions and lack of participation in socio-economic development. As a result, they had to be nationalised. The same cannot be started again, they said.The process of outsourcing of core banking jobs and services has also met with protest as the banking employees have termed it as violation of the bipartite settlement between Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and unions on the issue.The moves to privatise banks through divestment and merger of banks would also be opposed tooth and nail and the Government should scrap the Khandelwal Committee recommendations on outsourcing and recruitment, the confederation stated.President NCBE, Odisha unit, S P Behera and secretary J B Mohapatra were present.