Bank employees flay Centre for favouring non-banking financial companies

AGARTALA: Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) has accused Centre of promoting non banking financial companies (NBFC) and helping them in expansion of business in the rural areas and preventing penetration of nationalized banks. Addressing the media on Saturday, BEFI general secretary Pradip Biswas alleged that within three months of the announcement regarding opening of rural banks in the last budget, as many as 30,000 branches of different nationalized banks became malfunctioned across the country.
On the other hand, bank regulators are allowing the NBFCs and micro-finance companies to expand their business in villages, he said. Biswas alleged that these NBFCs were virtually cheating the poor people and those from the marginal income groups.
Biswas demanded that Banking Act (Amendment) Bill, 2011 be withdrawn while pointing out that the proposed Bill would enable foreign companies to handle the management and working procedures of at least 12 private Indian banks including Indus Ind Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Axix Bank and HDFC Bank.
"Centre is allowing big corporate giants to open private banks in India, which ultimately will lead to the situation that prevailed before the nationalization of banks in 1969," Biswas apprehended. He advised that the recommendations of Khandalwal Committee on bank reforms be revoked. He said the nationwide bank strike on July 25-26 had been postponed, as Indian Bank Association and management has called them for a meeting on Monday to discuss on their four-points demand and if the meeting fails to resolve the issues, the banks will go on a two-day strike from August 22.