Bank staffers want action on bad loans

Hyderabad: While the Central government announced additional capitalisation to banks, bank employees are demanding publication of bad loan account holders and saving banks from write offs.

The employees are on the warpath over the issue. They said that though the banks earned Rs 1.59 lakh crore profit in the last financial year, they suffered Rs 11,388 crore loss due to the bad loans.  C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All-India Bank Employees’ Association, said that since 2011 bad loans have increased year after year. “It was Rs 74,664 crore in 2011 and currently it has reached Rs 8 lakh crore. Banks will experience a similar loss in this financial year too,” he said.

Mr Venkatachalam said that out of Rs 8 lakh crore bad loans, 12 prominent companies owe Rs 2.53 crore. “Due to the negligence of the government, banks are facing a crisis. Taking action and recovering the money is needed. But, the government is giving additional capital to banks to avoid action on the corporate defaulters,” he said. 

M.S. Kumar, secretary of the Federation of Bank Employees, said that the AIBEA will hold its central committee meeting on November 8 in New Delhi to decide the future course of action. “Besides write-offs towards bad loans, there are fraud cases, he said. 

We will be holding a dharna in Delhi on November 8 and 9,” he said.