Vijaya bank, Dena bank to merge with Bank of Baroda, sparks bankers protest
New Delhi : Owing to the decision to merge Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, several organisations in Mangaluru called for protest. The protesters supported by Congress and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) rejected the union government's decision to merge Vijaya Bank and raised concerns that it will limit job opportunities for people from Mangaluru and Karnataka in the bank.
"After the merger, the key positions in the bank will be held by people working with Bank of Baroda. This will limit jobs and affect people from Mangaluru and Karnataka. There is definitely Tuluva pride that is hurt by this. People like Attavar Balakrishna Shetty and Sundaram Shetty founded this bank here and there is an emotional connect with the bank for people here which should be preserved,” Muneer Katipalla, DYFI State President told TNM.
A placard at the protest read ‘Shetru Bank Kattidru, Modi Bank Muchchisidru’ which translates to "(Sundar Ram) Shetty built the bank, Modi is closing it.”
Ivan D'Souza, a Congress MLC from Mangaluru, called a meeting for MPs in the state to protest against the merger of the bank during the Parliament session. The protesters in Mangaluru also turned their ire on Naleen Kumar Kateel, MP from Mangaluru, for failing to prevent the merger of a bank historically linked to the coastal city.
Earlier there were reports that the merger of the three banks would be done in a way that all three banks could retain their identities. However, when the merger was announced in December 2018, the Bank of Baroda retained its brand identity while Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank ceased to be separate legal entities.
Besides, the officials at Vijaya Bank previously clarified that the merger would not lead to layoffs within the bank. "The combined business will be more than Rs 16.5 lakh crore; that will be the total business. I am sure there is good potential to grow and we shall be the second biggest public sector bank and third compared with all the banks operating in India," RA Sankara Narayanan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vijaya Bank told Moneycontrol.
