AIBOC & AIBEA Letter To FM: In a letter written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AIBOC and AIBEA have argued that by merging RBI with major banks, the banking sector can be made better and stronger.
Regional Rural Banks Merger: Bank unions have demanded the merger of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) with their main banks. In this regard, two bank unions AIBOC and AIBEA have written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In this letter, it has been demanded that Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) be merged with their respective sponsor banks. They have argued behind this that this will make the entire banking sector better and stronger. To strengthen the economy, bank unions say that regional rural banks having two types of control should be merged with their main banks (Sponsor Banks).
Work is going on to upgrade technology in 43 RRBs
Bank unions say that by doing this, rural banks will function normally like main banks. In a letter written to the Finance Minister, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) have been asked to adopt new technology like their main banks (Sponsor Banks). To complete this work quickly, work is also going on to upgrade technology in all 43 RRBs. All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOC) and All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) say that by merging Regional Rural Banks with their main banks (Sponsor Banks), there will be no problem in changing the technology.
Employees will be helped to learn modern banking
The letter also stated that the merger of RRBs with main banks (Sponsor Banks) will help the employees of rural banks to learn the methods of modern banking. Also, the problem of shortage of employees in banks will also be solved. This will happen because the salary scale and other benefits (Perquisites) of both the banks are almost the same. For the last 45 years, the main banks have been helping in running the rural banks, due to which the employees of the rural banks are already familiar with their way of working. Because of this, the merger of both the banks will be done easily.
Changes can be brought in the rural economy
It was also said in the letter written to the Finance Minister that the merger of RRBs with their main banks (Sponsor Banks) will improve monitoring, administration and accountability in the banking system. This will strengthen the entire banking sector. There will be many benefits from this merger, so the letter demands that all 43 regional rural banks be merged with their main banks. By doing this, the entire rural economy can be transformed by taking advantage of the strong financial position of the main banks and the reach of rural banks to rural areas.
12 government banks run RRBs together
At present there are 43 RRBs in the country, which are run by 12 government banks together. These banks have a total of 22,000 branches, which are spread across 702 districts. These banks have about 30 crore savings accounts and 3 crore loan accounts. Except Jammu & Kashmir Bank, all other government banks have their own RRBs. Among the government banks, even Punjab & Sind Bank does not have an RRB. Jammu & Kashmir Bank is the only private bank that does not sponsor any RRB. It is worth noting that 92 percent of these branches are located in urban and semi-urban areas. The Government of India has a 50% share in these RRBs. Of the remaining, 35% is owned by their main banks and 15% by state governments.
