Bank Employees Federation Opposes Reforms against Public Interest
The public sector banking system has been an instrument of economic sovereignty and social transformation. Its achievements cannot be erased by presenting private-sector led banking as the inevitable destination of modernisation: Federation
Hyderabad: Bank Employees Federation of India on Saturday unequivocally declared that it will oppose any reforms, which goes against the interests of the common people and economic sovereignty of the country.
It also appealed to the people to raise in united resistance against the neo liberal reforms, said Federation secretary Hari Rao S, in a statement issued on Saturday.
He was responding to the Centre’s move to constitute a high level committee on Friday in commensurate with the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Union Budget speech 2026–27. The committee has been assigned tenure of six months.
The stated objective is to review India's banking sector, including the Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks, and recommend structural, institutional, regulatory and legislative reforms to make it globally competitive, financially inclusive and resilient for Viksit Bharat 2047, he said.
While the terminology appears attractive and invokes the aspirations of national development, the actual Terms of Reference reveal an ambitious exercise to fundamentally reshape the banking architecture of the country.
Rao further stated that the working class movement, particularly the bank trade union movement, cannot afford to view this initiative as an ordinary administrative exercise. It must be examined in the context of the continuing neo-liberal offensive against public ownership, social banking and the developmental responsibilities of the banking industry.
The public sector banking system has been an instrument of economic sovereignty and social transformation. Its achievements cannot be erased by presenting private-sector led banking as the inevitable destination of modernisation.
The working class must recognise that the proposed committee could become an important instrument for advancing the next stage of neo-liberal economic reforms. “We cannot allow the future of Indian banking to be determined exclusively by the requirements of corporate capital, domestic monopolies and international financial interests,” he added.
