SBI tops ATM expansion in non-metros: Assocham

Mumbai, September 19: Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) is more aggressive in expanding its ATM (automated teller machine) network in the non-metro and semi-urban centres as compared to its peers, according to a study by Assocham. "Unlike other banks, the State Bank of India (SBI) is expanding its ATM network in non-metro and semi-urban centres, faster than expansion in the metros," the study based on the recent Reserve Bank data said. As compared to the 5,783 ATMs in metro cities, SBI has 7,511 and 6,419 ATMs in non-metro urban areas and semi-urban areas, respectively, the Assocham statement said.
SBI's peer in the state-run banks space, Punjab National Bank is the only other bank which has more ATMs in non-metro cities than the metros, it said. The objective of financial inclusion can be better achieved by the usage of technological interventions, including ATMs, and public sector banks have an important role to play in the objective, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat was quoted as saying.
Overall, the private sector banks, led by Axis Bank have gone about expanding their network through ATMs in a much more aggressive way than their public sector peers.  Be it, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank or HDFC their bias and preference for ATMs is for the metro cities, followed by tier two cities.Among the private sector banks, Axis Bank has the largest (10337) ATM network, followed by HDFC Bank with 9709 such machines and ICICI Bank - 9366 ATMs.
Excepting the SBI, the other banks have to go a long way before achieving the financial inclusion in the semi-urban and rural areas.
“The Finance Ministry is rightly very keen of achieving the financial inclusion of a large number of people in rural areas.  This can best be achieved by leveraging of technology and use mobile telephony and ATMs. Somehow, the public sector banks will have to take a lead in these areas. Even their brick and mortar branch network is wider in the rural and semi-urban areas than the private sector banks,” ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat said.
He said while a good beginning has been made, pooling of technology resources like the ATMs should be encouraged so that optimum use can be made to the advantage of the people. The ASSOCHAM quoted honourable Finance Minister Mr P Chidamabaram who recently noted how even the trade has not been fully brought into the banking network.
“As was pointed out by the Finance Minister, today traders are not able to deposit their cash of sales proceeds at night in any bank. In the process, they have to keep it either in the shop premises or at home taking the risks of theft and other insecurity issues. We must have technology-driven day and night banking so that a wider section of the informal economy is brought into the banking network,” Mr Rawat said. While the RBI has been expressing concerns over regulatory issues over the mobile banking, sooner or later different technology platforms have to converge and the regulators need to equip themselves to deal with new challenges and opportunities.
The ASSOCHAM said a large number of Indians still remain outside the banking network.  It is because of lack of the organized banking that the gullible people in semi urban and rural areas fall prey to unscrupulous money-lenders. “The institutions of micro-finance did make a good beginning. However, because of certain corporate governance issues, the entire experiment has become rather overshadowed by controversies. The use of technology to reach out to the bottom of the pyramid promises a lot of scope,” the ASSOCHAM Secretary General said.

About 10 lakh bank employees to go on strike on 22-23 August

New Delhi, August 21: Around 10 lakh bank employees and officers working in 27 public sector banks including State Bank of India (SBI) and 12 old generation private sector banks and eight foreign banks will resort to two days nationwide strike on 22nd and 23rd August, says United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). UFBU is the umbrella organisation of five employee unions and four officer unions of state-run banks in the country.
The Chief Labour Commissioner has called the bank union on 21st August for a conciliation meeting on strike notice, the statement added. The UFBU said it is against the proposed banking sector reforms, unilateral imposition of the Khandelwal committee report and want appointment on compassionate ground.
"The banking reform measures are retrograde but the government is still pursing the same and hence our protest," the statement said.
The Banking Laws Amendment Bill, 2011, which is before Parliament, contains provisions such as raising of shareholders' voting rights from 10% to 26% in private banks and suppression of bank boards.
There are about 87,000 branches of public sector banks across the country. The state-owned lenders control about 75% banking business.
UFBU is opposed to recommendations of the Khandelwal Committee which was appointed by Central Government to suggest changes in Human Resource policies in the banks. Here are the points raised by the UFBU...

1. From 1950s, we have common wages and service conditions.  Now, this committee has recommended Bank specific wage structure based on profitability, productivity etc.
2. All these years we have uniform wage and service conditions.  Now, the committee wants introduction of fixed and variable pay concept.  A portion of wage will be fixed and balance will vary according to performance.  This is impracticable in the banking sector and will result in division of employees and promote sycophancy.
3. The committee has also recommended that settlements with unions on transfer of employees to be reviewed and to give free hand to the managements to transfer employees from place to place.
4. The Committee has suggested 50% of officer vacancies should be filled directly from the market instead of promoting clerks.  This will seriously affect the career of employees.
5. The report says that minimum qualification for appointing a clerk should be graduation.  All these years, matriculates are eligible to join the Banks.  Now, lakhs and lakhs of such unemployed youth will be deprived the opportunity.
6. Similarly, so far, the qualification to join the banks as peon / class IV employee is 8th Standard failed.  The committee says that it should be matriculation.  This is also absurd.
7. The Report says that Banks should not make any appointments in the urban areas but workload in the banks warrants the same.
8. The committee has suggested outsourcing of all the regular bank jobs which is unfair labour practice.

"All these measures are anti-employee and anti-trade union and they are targeted to attack collective bargaining. Further overlooking the settlement the Government is giving unilateral guidelines on various service conditions. UFBU is opposed to such unilateralism," the bank unions have said.
UFBU would held massive rallies in all district places and cities across the country.  Nine unions, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation Of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation Of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organisation Of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation Of Bank Officers (NOBO) have given the call for strike under the UBFU umbrella.

Soon, a bank-wide portal that will allow you to shop for best service

Customer is king Online travel portals seed the idea of a similar portal for banks Customers could compare interest rates on deposits/loans across banks at one go Figuring out which bank offers the best deal could become easy Will empower customer
Mumbai, August 20: How convenient it would be to compare at one place interest rates on deposits offered by various banks, their retail loan rates, margin amounts they require, the processing fees they charge, the add-on facilities they offer on deposits, and so on.
Extremely. The Finance Ministry also thinks so, and wants public sector banks, a la travel portals such as cleartrip, makemytrip, yatra and expedia, to explore the feasibility of setting up a bank-wide portal. These online travel portals allow travellers the convenience of comparing the fares quoted by various airlines so that they can buy the cheapest ticket plus the various add-ons such as hotel rooms and airport pick-up.
Wide choice: As things stand now, customers seeking a higher return on their investible surplus, or the cheapest home, car or personal loan, have to either go to the branches of various banks or surf their individual Web sites. No mean task as there are 26 public sector banks, including the five associate banks of State Bank of India. A more discerning customer may widen his search to the 23 private sector banks too.
Time-Saver: But with a bank-wide portal, customers can avoid the tedium of visiting the branches of various banks or surfing their Web sites, saving much time and energy. At the click of a mouse, one can compare interest rates on deposits and loans across banks, said a senior public sector bank official. “The portal could usher in transparency in banks’ dealings with customers,” he explained.
Banks will have to update their details on the portal regularly to reflect the latest position on interest rates, and any change in product features. The portal could also incorporate a feature whereby, if a customer zeroes in on a particular bank to place a deposit with or take a loan from, all he needs to do is share his contact details, so that officers from the nearest branch can contact him to complete the transaction.
Advertising: A banker said that private sector and foreign banks too may join the portal at a later stage, if it attracts enough eyeballs. The project to design, build, own and operate the portal is likely to be given to an information technology company. The company can recover the costs from advertisements placed by banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and broking firms.

Lok Sabha to decide on Banking Act changes

New Delhi, August 19: The almost seven-year wait for amending the Banking Regulation Act is likely to end on Wednesday, when the Lok Sabha will take up amendments in the Banking Regulation Act for consideration and passage. This is one of three financial sector Bills aimed at ushering in a new phase of reforms.
The Lok Sabha’s list of business for August 22 states that Finance Minister P Chidambaram will move the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2011 to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980.
India Inc is keenly awaiting passage of this Bill as this will push the Reserve Bank of India to issue new banking licences.
Enactment of this Bill will provide new powers to the central bank. It proposes to confer upon the Reserve Bank the power to call for information and returns from the associate enterprises of banking companies, and also to inspect the same, if necessary. The Bill also proposes to empower the Reserve Bank to supersede the board of directors of a banking company for a total period not exceeding 12 months, and appoint an administrator to manage the banking company during the said period. The RBI feels that such power will help it in regulating new as well as existing entities in a better manner.
Another key feature of the Bill is increasing the voting rights. The Bill had originally proposed raising the ceiling on voting rights of shareholders of nationalised banks to 10 per cent from 1 per cent.
For private sector banks, the Bill talked about removing the existing restriction on voting rights limited to 10 per cent of the total voting rights of all the shareholders. However, it is believed that the Government has accepted the Standing Committee’s recommendation of increasing the limit of voting rights to 26 per cent from the existing 10 per cent.
It is expected that higher voting rights will give investors more leeway. The present Bill contains some provisions of the previous Bill. The previous Bill for amendment in Banking Regulation was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 13, 2005. Even after the Standing Committee’s recommendation, strong opposition from its then allies the Left Parties forced the Government to allow the Bill lapse in 2009 when the term of the 14th Lok Sabha ended.

Knowledge helpline for SBI staff launched

The Web-based service, will be useful to the employees to get their doubts clarified about banking and in turn be more helpful to the customer in their service.

 

Hyderabad, Aug. 3.: Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao launched a ‘knowledge helpline’ for the staff of State Bank of India. The Web-based service, will be useful to the employees to get their doubts clarified about banking and in turn be more helpful to the customer in their service. The RBI Governor, who also inaugurated the “Swarn Udyan” and the renovated hostel blocks was the chief guest at the golden jubilee celebrations of the State Bank Staff College here on Friday.

 

Speaking on the occasion, he said banks have to regain the trust and confidence of people. Banking sector is going to be involved and engaged in financial inclusion. It is required to understand the psychology and economy of poor people to enhance financial inclusion. There is a need for innovative infrastructure financing in India as we are supply constraint economy.

 

SBI Chairman Pratip Chauduri and other dignitaries from the SBI, the RBI, other banks and educational institutions took part in the event. The State Bank Staff College set up in 1961 has emerged as a premier training institute for the banking industry. The college trains more than 6,000 officers every year, mostly middle- and senior-level executives, in credit management, international banking, leadership development, marketing skills, negotiation skills and communication skills etc.

 

Several public and private sector banks in India as well as banks from developing countries like Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Ghana, Maldives, etc., also send their officers for training. Several Govt. officials of revenue intelligence, enforcement directorate, CBI, income tax, central vigilance commission etc., are also trained in banking related areas at the College.

Knowledge helpline for SBI staff launched

The Web-based service, will be useful to the employees to get their doubts clarified about banking and in turn be more helpful to the customer in their service.

 

Hyderabad, Aug. 3.: Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao launched a ‘knowledge helpline’ for the staff of State Bank of India. The Web-based service, will be useful to the employees to get their doubts clarified about banking and in turn be more helpful to the customer in their service. The RBI Governor, who also inaugurated the “Swarn Udyan” and the renovated hostel blocks was the chief guest at the golden jubilee celebrations of the State Bank Staff College here on Friday.

 

Speaking on the occasion, he said banks have to regain the trust and confidence of people. Banking sector is going to be involved and engaged in financial inclusion. It is required to understand the psychology and economy of poor people to enhance financial inclusion. There is a need for innovative infrastructure financing in India as we are supply constraint economy.

 

SBI Chairman Pratip Chauduri and other dignitaries from the SBI, the RBI, other banks and educational institutions took part in the event. The State Bank Staff College set up in 1961 has emerged as a premier training institute for the banking industry. The college trains more than 6,000 officers every year, mostly middle- and senior-level executives, in credit management, international banking, leadership development, marketing skills, negotiation skills and communication skills etc.

 

Several public and private sector banks in India as well as banks from developing countries like Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Ghana, Maldives, etc., also send their officers for training. Several Govt. officials of revenue intelligence, enforcement directorate, CBI, income tax, central vigilance commission etc., are also trained in banking related areas at the College.