Vadodara: Bank unions today opposed the government’s move to rope in private sector executives to head state-run banks, calling it as an attempt to dilute the character of the nationalised banks. “The appointment of private sector executives as chairman and MD/CEOs of various public sector banks, though not surprising going by the policy approach of the Government, is a definite step towards diluting the public sector character of our banks,” general secretary of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), C H Venkatachalam, told PTI.
He said, appointment of private sector executives to head public sector banks will not serve the purpose of social good, one of the biggest objectives of the public sector lenders. The social orientation of PSBs will be undermined as their total outlook would be only on maximising profit, he said.
Additionally, it will also deprive senior cadre of their career growth opportunities, he added. The comments came in light of the government’s move to appoint private sector executives to head two state-run banks with an aim to “professionalise” the operations. In the first, P S Jayakumar (Bank of Baroda) and Rakesh Sharma (Canara Bank) were drawn from private sector lenders to lead the banks as managing directors and chief executives.
However, the Finance Ministry had clarified over the weekend that no such appointments would be made from the private sector further. Venkatachalam said the appointments will not help fight the ills at the state-run banks, including the high incidence of bad loans.
