Bank of Baroda posts net profit in Q4

Bank of Baroda on Tuesday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 506.59 crore for the March 2020 quarter.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 991.37 crore in the January-March quarter of the preceding fiscal ended March 2019.

The figures for the quarter are not comparable year-on-year due to amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into it with effect from April 2019.

The Government of India through a gazette notification dated January 2, 2019 approved the scheme of amalgamation between Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank and amalgamation is effective April 1, 2019.

The results for the quarter/ year ending March 31, 2020 and quarter ended December 31, 2019 includes operations of erstwhile Vijaya Bank and erstwhile DenaBank, Bank of Baroda said in a regulatory filing.

"Hence the results for quarter and year ended March 31, 2020 are not comparable with corresponding period of previous year and for the year ended March 31, 2019," it said.

The income for the March quarter of 2019-20 was at Rs 21,533.10 crore. Its income during the same quarter of 2018-19 was Rs 15,284.59 crore.

For the full year FY20, Bank of Baroda posted a net profit of Rs 546.18 crore, up from Rs 433.52 crore in FY19.

Income during the year increased to Rs 86,300.98 crore from Rs 56,065.10 crore.

On asset front, Bank of Baroda witnessed slight improvement as the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans came down to 9.40 per cent of the gross advances as on March 31, 2020 as against 9.61 per cent by March 31, 2019.

Likewise, net NPAs fell to 3.13 per cent from 3.33 per cent.

The bank has not declared any dividend for the FY 2019-20, BoB said.

Non-performing assets provisioning coverage ratio (including floating provision) is 81.33 per cent as on March 31, 2020 (previous year's 78.68 per cent), it added

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Top Public Sector Banks In India 2020

These banks have emerged to be trusted brands where people deposit and invest money without thinking twice. Some of these banks stand out when it comes to offering services and are thus a preferred choice of greater number of people.

Here is a look at some of the best public sector banks in India.

1] State Bank of India 

Commonly known as SBI, this bank was set up in the year 1955. It is one of the oldest and the most trusted public sector banks in India. SBI is owned by the Indian government. It offers all kinds of banking services and is known for maintaining transparency in its dealings. It boasts of more than 40 crore satisfied customers.

After receiving an overwhelming response from people in India, the bank went on to open its branches worldwide. Today, it has nearly 200 offices in 36 different countries.  The headquarters of SBI are located in Mumbai.

2] Bank of India

This bank was established in the year 1906 as a privately owned entity. However, after the nationalization of banks, it became a public sector bank. This change took place back in 1969. The bank has 5,500 branches operating across the country. 

It has been serving millions of Indians by catering to their banking requirements.The bank also has its branches outside the country. It operates in 22 other countries with around 60 branches. New York, Paris, London and Singapore are among the countries where Bank of India has its branches.

3] Punjab National Bank

This bank came into being in the year 1895. It was founded under the guidance of one of the greatest Indian leaders of all times, Lala Lajpat Rai. The bank was established as a part of the Swadeshi movement. PNB was managed solely by Indians.

It became extremely popular in the pre-independence era and is still trusted as much. It offers several banking services and is known for providing quality banking products. The bank has around 7000 branches and has its presence in every nook and corner of the country.

4] Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda was opened in Vadodara, Gujrat in the year 1908. The bank is known to offer quality banking and finance services to its customers ever since its inception.

It is known to be the second largest nationalized bank in the country. The bank does not only operate in India but has its presence around the world. It operates in as many as 25 countries across the globe with more than 75 million happy customers. Dena bank and Vijaya bank merged with Bank of Baroda recently thereby making it an even bigger entity.

5] Central Bank of India

Central Bank came into being in the year 1911. It has been serving the customers happily ever since the beginning. The bank is known to offer numerous banking products.

It has a team of qualified and experienced bankers who have the answer to all your banking related queries and are always happy to help their customers. The bank has nearly 5,000 branches operating pan India. It also has offices in Hong Kong and Nairobi.

The headquarters of this bank is set up in Mumbai.

6] Canara Bank

Established in the year, 1906, Canara bank has its headquarters in Bengaluru. The bank has more than 6000 branches and nearly 9500 ATMs operating across the country. It offers several banking products and is known to offer impeccable service. It has more than 8 crore happy customers.

The bank does not only operate in India but has its branches in many other countries too. It has been serving people in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Manama, Leicester, Johannesburg and Dubai.

7] Union Bank of India

Union Bank of India started as a limited company in the year 1919. It became a full-fledged bank in the year 1969 after nationalisation. The bank offers numerous banking products. By providing quality banking services consistently for years it has managed to acquire more than 5 crore customers.

Its customer base is increasing with every passing year. It is the proud owner of over 4500 branches spread across India. It also has branches in 4 other countries including Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai and Antwerp.

8] UCO Bank

UCO Bank was established back in the year, 1943. It has its headquarters in Kolkatta, West Bengal. The bank has around 50 branches across the country and nearly 4000 plus service units. It has also made its presence overseas with branches in Singapore and Hong Kong.

9] Bank of Maharashtra

Bank of Maharashtra came into being in the year, 1935. The bank has been offering excellent service to its customers ever since its inception. It provides all kinds of banking and finance services. It has its headquarters in Pune. 87.74% of the total shares of the bank are held by the Government of India.

10] Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank was established back in the year, 1937. It has more than 3,400 branches across the country. The bank offers a host of banking services to meet the requirement of different segments of customers. After its success in the country, the bank went on to open branches in foreign land. It has 6 foreign branches.

You can safely open account and acquire other banking services from any of these banks!

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Bank of Baroda(BoB) posts surprise loss in Q3

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Friday reported a net loss of ₹1,407 crore for the three months to December, owing to higher provisions for bad assets.

The bank's loss came as a surprise to the market as a Bloomberg poll of 18 analysts had estimated a profit of ₹683.4 crore.

On 1 April, 2019, Bank of Baroda merged with two other state-owned banks, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. The bank provided comparable numbers for FY19's December quarter by adding individual numbers for the three individual banks. The profit for the amalgamated entity stood at ₹436 crore in Q3FY20.

BoB's provisions rose 54% on a year-on-year basis to ₹6,365 crore. The bank's gross bad loan ratio, total bad loans as a percentage of total advances, fell 48 basis points (bps) y-o-y to 10.43%. Its asset quality pressures continued in the December quarter as loans worth ₹10,387 crore turned non-performing. Of this, ₹4,509 crore was owing to RBI's divergence report that found under-reporting of bad loans.

"We have had a bit of a rough quarter because of the impact of the divergence, which was there on the provision and on the profit but if you look at the yoy figure they seem to stand out well," said Sanjiv Chadha, chief executive, Bank of Baroda.

According to S.L. Jain, executive director, Bank of Baroda, majority of the fresh slippages originated in sectors of chemical, power and non-banks. While slippages from a loan in the chemical sector was about ₹2,700 crore, two power accounts and three non-banks contributed to slippages of ₹1,000 crore and ₹2,900 crore, respectively.

Its net interest income, or the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid on deposits, increased 9% y-o-y to ₹7,128 crore in Q3 FY20. The bank's net interest margin (NIM), a measure of profitability, stood at 2.8%, up 18 bps from the same period last year.

Jain said that the bank's total exposure to the telecom sector is at ₹4,100 crore. He added that most of it are in two companies that have closed operations and have "very little" loans to Vodafone-Idea.

"For the two defunct telecom companies, we have provided for 100% of our loans," said Jain.

The public sector lender's domestic advances grew 0.67% Y-o-Y to ₹5.44 trillion, led by retail loan growth of 15.31% Y-o-Y. It's domestic deposits grew 1.3% Y-o-Y to ₹7.82 trillion. Jain said that corporates have repaid ₹9,954 crore in Q3, of which non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) accounted for ₹2,399 crore.

The bank's capital adequacy ratio under Basel III norms stood at 13.48% at the end of the December quarter.

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Bank of Baroda(BoB) Q2 net profit rises five-fold

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Friday reported a net profit of ₹737 crore for the three months to September, almost five times higher than the same period last year on the back of higher other income.

The bank's profit was higher than ₹165.4 crore estimated by a Bloomberg poll of 19 analysts.

BoB's other income was buoyed by trading gains of ₹942 crore in the quarter, compared to ₹138 crore in the same period last year.

Its net interest income, or the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid on deposits, increased 10.09% to ₹7,028 crore in Q2 FY20. The bank's net interest margin (NIM), a measure of profitability, stood at 2.81%, up 19 basis points (bps) on a sequential basis.

On 1 April, 2019, Bank of Baroda merged with two other state-owned banks, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs),as a percentage of total advances, were at 10.25% in the September quarter and net bad loan ratio was at 3.91%.

The bank saw slippages of ₹6,001 crore in the second quarter of FY20. These were primarily driven by a few chunky accounts, the bank's management told reporters on Friday.

"Loans to two non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), one textile and one plastic company have slipped in the quarter. The exposure to these two NBFCs is ₹2,000 crore" said S L Jain, executive director, Bank of Baroda.

Jain added that the bank's total real estate exposure is at ₹15,000 crore and exposure to troubled mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) is about ₹2,000 crore.

The bank reported provisions of ₹4,209 crore in the September quarter, up 6.9% year-on-year (Y-o-Y), of which ₹3,425 crore was for bad loans.

The public sector lender's domestic advances grew 2% Y-o-Y to ₹5.33 trillion, led by retail loan growth of 16.2% Y-o-Y. It's domestic deposits grew 4% Y-o-Y to ₹7.83 trillion.

"Our focus will be on retail loans and in the corporate segment, we will try to have 80% of our corporate loans in AAA and AA-rated companies," said Murali Ramaswami, executive director, Bank of Baroda

Following the end of PS Jayakumar's term last month, the bank does not have a chief executive.

It's capital adequacy ratio under Basel III norms stood at 12.98% at the end of the September quarter.

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Bank of Baroda (BOB) Recruitment for Sector Specialist cum Product Manager Posts 2019

Bank of Baroda has published an Advertisement for below mentioned Posts 2019. Other details are given below in the advertisement.

Posts:

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Food Processing

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Textile

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Wood products

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Handicraft, Cottage as well as small or medium scale

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Leather / Tanneries

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Metalworks/Crafts / Engineering

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Stone / Marble works

Sector Specialist cum Product Manager - Art & Crafts Sculptures

Total No. of Posts: 15

Click here for Detailed Advertisement

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RBI slaps fine on Nine banks due to violating norms

The RBI has imposed penalties on nine commercial banks, including SBI, PNB and BoB, for a host of violations, including delay on the reporting of fraud in the account of Kingfisher Airlines in case of two lenders.

The nine lenders in separate regulatory filings said that the penalties have been imposed on them for delay in reporting of frauds. Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) said the RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on it for delay in reporting of fraud in the account of Kingfisher Airlines.

Another state-run lender Oriental Bank of Commerce said that the RBI has imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 crore on it for delay in reporting fraud in the account of Kingfisher Airlines. The aforesaid penalty is required to be paid within 14 days from the date of receipt of the RBI order, the bank added.

United Bank of India and Punjab & Sind Bank said they have been fined 1 crore each by the RBI. State Bank of India (SBI) said the RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on it for non-compliance relating to reporting of frauds. The RBI in exercise of the powers conferred under various sections of the Banking Regulations Act, has imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on the bank for non-compliance with its directions relating to reporting of frauds, it said in a filing.

Bank of Baroda and Federal Bank reported a fine of Rs 50 lakh each on them for delay in reporting fraud in an account.

Corporation Bank and UCO Bank also reported imposition of fines by the RBI for delay in reporting of frauds.

The RBI in a release on Friday had said that it had imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on Corporation Bank non-compliance with the directions on cyber security framework and frauds classification and reporting.

The central bank in another release on Friday had named seven banks that faced penalties of various amounts for violation of its direction on fraud classification and reporting and opening of current accounts. The RBI slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore each on Allahabad Bank and Bank of Maharashtra, Rs 1.5 crore each on Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India, and Rs 1 crore penalty on Oriental Bank of Commerce.

A scrutiny was carried out by the RBI in the accounts of the companies of a Group and it was observed that the banks had failed to comply with provisions of one or more of the directions issued by the RBI, the release had said. Based on the findings of the scrutiny, notices were issued to the banks advising them to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the directions.

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Bank of Baroda(BoB) Q1 result, net profit rises 34%

Bank of Baroda on Thursday said its first quarter net profit rose 34% on the back of higher net interest income and other income.

The state-owned lender posted a net profit ₹710 crore for the quarter ended 30 June compared to ₹528 crore in the year-ago period. Profit was lower than ₹857 crore estimated by a Bloomberg poll of 17 analysts.

Net interest income, or the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits, increased 48% to ₹6,498 crore from ₹4,381 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Other income, which includes core fee income, rose 67% to ₹1,916 crore in the three months from ₹1,148 crore a year ago.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs), as a percentage of total advances, were at 10.28% in the June quarter compared with 9.61% in the Jan-Mar quarter and 12.46% in the year-ago June quarter.

Provisions during the quarter increased 52% to ₹3,285 crore as against ₹2,166 crore in the year-ago quarter. In the Jan-Mar quarter, the bank had set aside ₹5,399 crore in provisions

Post-provision, the net NPA ratio was at 3.95% against 3.33% in the Jan-Mar quarter and 5.40% in the year-ago quarter.

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BoB directs their male employees for dressing style during work hours

Bank of Baroda’s new directive for its male employees has garnered a lot of attention on social media. The public sector bank, which recently merged with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, sent out a circular recently, urging all male branch staff in the Bhuj region to “look smart” during banking hours.

The circular addressed to all branches and offices in the Bhuj region, said ‘its always good to look smart for each and every employee’. The circular was sent after the bank management noticed during branch inspections that many employees were not trimming their hair, shaving and wearing clean and well-iron clothes. The inspection also revealed some employees were not reporting to work on time and were coming to office in slippers.

As many as 11 dressing and etiquette guidelines were part of the letter that was sent to all the branches. It said that employees’ hair should be trimmed and neat. In case an employee wants to keep their hair long, the locks should be ”shaped and combed”. As far as moustaches are concerned, the guidelines advised staff to keep them in shape.

The guidelines prohibited the choice of wearing jeans and t-shirts to the office and said male staff should always wear “pant and shirt” on all working days. However, shirts should be tucked in without any wrinkle on the front.

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Govt likely to adopt Bank of Baroda-like model of merger for PSBs

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in its second stint may not go for a mega merger of public sector banks (PSBs) — a plan which was mooted during recent deliberations on consolidation.

Instead, the government may likely adopt the Bank of Baroda (BoB)-like model to merge two-three banks, people aware of the development said.

Sources said that earlier this month the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M K Jain had met Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar and other finance ministry officials in Delhi to discuss the PSB merger plan informally. This was followed by another round of meetings between the officials and the RBI.

The central government has to consult the RBI before formulating a plan for PSB merger, according to the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts of 1970 and 1980. During the meetings, various combinations for merger of PSBs were discussed, sources said. One of the proposals was to go for a mega merger by way of consolidation of eight to nine banks into two.

“However, the plan was dropped. We can expect at least two sets of mergers this fiscal year on the lines of BoB-like consolidation,” another person said.

Before announcing the three-way merger of BoB, Dena Bank, and Vijaya Bank in September last year, the government had sought the views of the RBI on possible combinations of PSBs “to achieve scale and synergy.” 

“The more the number of banks to be merged, the more difficult the integration process becomes and you lose sight of what happens where. A three-way merger is manageable as consensus building becomes easier,” Ashvin Parekh, managing partner at Ashvin Parekh Advisory, said. He, however, said that the merger has to be well-thought-out and the objectives should be “measurable and evolved.”

The government is working out various combinations for the merger of PSBs and Punjab National Bank (PNB) may be the first candidate which may subsume some other banks. One of the combinations discussed was the merger of Union Bank of India and Bank of India with PNB.

 For the first time, under the Modi government’s tenure, two mergers took place — One, five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with State Bank of India, and two, Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank merged with BoB.

“India needs fewer, mega banks which are strong, because in every sense, from borrowing rates to optimum utilisation, the economies of scale as far as banking sector are concerned are of great help,” former finance minister Arun Jaitley had said earlier this year.

Source- PSU Bankers

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Bank of Baroda(BoB) reports Q4 net loss on higher bad loan provisions

State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 991 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2019 on higher bad loan provisions.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 3,102 crore. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 899.3 crore for the quarter under review.

For the whole year, standalone and consolidated profit stood at Rs 433 crore and Rs 1,100 crore respectively.

Domestic CASA deposits registered a growth of 8.36 percent Y-o-Y. CASA deposits to total domestic deposits at 40.23 percent versus 41.18 percent as on March 31, 2018. Domestic deposits stood at Rs 5,17,966 crore as on March 31,2019 up by 11.91 percent from Rs 4,66,974 crore as on March 31, 2018. Domestic advances grew by 14.17 percent to Rs 3,70,185 crore as on March 31, 2019 from Rs 3,24,239 crore as on March 31,2018. The increase was led by retail loans which grew by 24.18 percent.

The operating profit stood at Rs 3,861 crore as against Rs 3,539 crore in the previous quarter. For FY19, operating profit increased by 12.34 percent due to 22.70 percent increase in net interest income at Rs 18,480 crore.

Capital adequacy ratio of the bank stood at 13.42 percent and CET -1 at 10.38 percent versus 11.67 percent and 8.65 percent in December 31,2018. Consolidated CET-1 and Capital Adequacy Ratios improved in March 2019 at 11.60 percent (9.74 percent in December 2018) and 14.2 percent (12.62 percent in December 2018) respectively.

Domestic Y-o-Y credit growth remained in double-digits for eight quarters. Terminal and average growth of 14.17 percent and 18.75 percent respectively. Retail loans increased by 24.18 percent led by home and auto loans at 22.15 percent and 49.43 percent respectively, BoB said in a BSE filing.

The net interest income (Nil) of the bank increased to Rs 4,863 crore. Adjusting for IT refund of Rs 204 crore in March 2019, Nil increased by 25.73 percent on a Y-o-Y basis. Domestic core fee income increased by 10.41 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 995 crore.

Consolidated and standalone operating profit stood at Rs 15,519 crore and Rs 13,487 crore respectively for FY19 an increase of 12.34 percent and 14.43 percent respectively. Treasury trading gains were lower at Rs 989 crore from Rs 1,878 crore in FY18. Standalone operating profit for Q419 stood at Rs 3,861 crore registering an increase of 44.88 percent.

Net interest margin (NIM) improved to 2.90 percent in Q4FY19 from 2.69 percent last quarter. For the year, NIM increased to 2.72 percent from 2.43 percent in the previous year. Domestic NIM increased to 2.98 percent in Q4 FY19 from 2.80 percent last quarter.

Gross NPA reduced to 9.61 percent as on March 31, 2019 against 11.01 percent last quarter. Net NPA fell to 3.33 percent from 4.26 percent last quarter. Absolute amount of net NPA also declined by Rs 3,521 crore to Rs 15,609 crore, lowest in eight quarters.

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BoB-Dena Bank-Vijaya Bank merger takes effect from 1st April : Here's what will change for customers of these banks

Two major state-run banks will stop operations from April 1. These two banks are Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, and they will be merged with Bank of Baroda. Bank of Baroda will acquire Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank to create India’s second largest public sector bank behind State Bank of India (SBI) effective Monday. This is the first threeway merger of banks in India. The combined bank will have a geographical reach of more than 9,500 branches, more than 13,400 ATMs with 85,000 employees serving 120 million customers. 

The combined entity will have deposits and advances of Rs 8.75 lakh crore, and Rs 6.25 lakh crore, respectively. “The complementary branch presence will add to the network in western and southern states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The bank will have a 22 per cent market share in Gujarat and an 8-10 per cent market share in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh,” Bank of Baroda said. 

Dena Bank, which is under RBI watch under the so-called prompt corrective action framework, will have renewed access to credit facilities immediately. 

“Both banks will have access to BoB’s international presence at 101 offices. Unique programmes of Vijaya Bank like SRTO funding, plantation financing will be available to customers of the other two banks,” BoB said. 

Banking operations and accounts held by these two banks will be transferred to Bank of Baroda post merger. This would lead to some changes for the customers of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

Since the banking operations of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank will be handed over to Bank of Baroda (BoB), the customers may get new passbooks, cheque books, debit and credit cards, and even new account numbers and customer IDs. This means that the customers will have to get their banking details updated with entities like the Income Tax Department, mutual funds, insurance companies, etc.

Some aspects, like the interest rate on fixed deposits or recurring deposits, and existing loans, are not likely to change. Here's a look at how the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda might affect their customers:

What could change

1. New bank account numbers and customer IDs could be assigned to the customers.
2. Customers will have to update their banking details with entities like the Income Tax Department, mutual funds, insurance companies, National Pension Scheme, etc, to incorporate the new account numbers and IFSC codes.
3. Customers might have to fill new instruction forms for SIP and loan EMIs.
4. New cheque books, passbooks, credit cards and debit cards might be issued.
5. Some branches might be closed after consolidation. Customers of such branches are likely to be transferred to a different branch of Bank of Baroda.

What will remain unchanged

1. The interest rates for personal loans, home loans, auto loan, education loan, etc are not likely to change.
2. The interest paid to customers on fixed deposits or recurring deposits is expected to remain unchanged.

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the petitions by several bank associations to stay the merger of Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank, clearing the way for the amalgamation. Ahead of the merger, the government has decided to infuse Rs 5,042 crore into the Bank of Baroda by way of preferential allotment of equity shares of the bank during FY2018-19, as government's investment.

According to the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held. In the case of Dena Bank, its shareholders will get 110 shares for every 1,000 shares of BoB.

After the entity formed by the merger of BoB, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank will be second the third biggest in the Indian banking sector, by virtue of assets and businesses.

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Bank of Baroda’s ‘one-sided’ contract riles Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank staff

With the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda (BoB) coming into effect from April 1, the BoB management is reportedly forcing staff of the other two banks to sign an allegedly “one-sided” and “discriminatory” contract before March 16. Even as final negotiations regarding the wages are on, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank employees have received a letter from BoB, asking them to sign the offer of employment or to opt for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

While the letter asked employees of both the banks to exercise either of the options before March 16, it did not specify the terms and conditions of employment. This would be decided later by the Board of Bank of Baroda, according to the letter. “You are hereby offered to hold office and service in Bank of Baroda, from the effective date i.e., April 1, 2019, on the terms and conditions as may be decided by the Board of Directors of Bank of Baroda,” said the offer letter, a copy of which is accessed by this publication.

The staff of both Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank called this “discriminatory”. “We were told that our interests will be protected, but the BoB is using indirect methods to force VRS on us. We cannot be forced into signing the consent letter without knowing the terms and conditions. As per the initial negotiation, our wages and promotional terms and conditions will not be at par with (that of) Bank of Baroda (staff), which is discriminatory,” a Vijaya Bank employee said told this paper. 

The employees are also bothered by the transfer policy. “There are many branches of Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda, which are overlapping. While the amalgamation process is still on, the staff fears mass transfer of Dena Bank employees. So, this is like blackmailing us into either working on unsaid terms and conditions or taking VRS,” said a Dena Bank employee.

Meanwhile, the banks’ union has already termed the whole process illegal. “The whole process of amalgamation is illegal, unethical and done in a hasty manner. There was no need for opting for Alternative Mechanism. And while the petition is already in the Supreme Court, they are forcing this contract on employees, just to show that employees are agreeing to the merger,” S Nagarajan, general secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Association said.

The All India Vijaya Bank Officers’ Union has said that the manner in which the merger is done is highly questionable. “This is totally pressure tactics and a highly questionable move. While those who are about to retire may opt for VRS, many young employees will go ahead and sign it to save their future jobs,” said K Srinivasarao, general secretary, All India Vijaya Bank Officers’ Union. The queries sent to Bank of Baroda by this correspondent remained unanswered.

A case in point

When merger of SBI came into effect, 4,000 employees at SBI and associates opted for VRS Till date, there is a difference in pay, perks and promotion policy that associate banks’ employees feel they are getting a step-motherly treatment, even in HR policy In July last year, 70,000 officers of the associate banks were asked to “return the compensation for extra work” during demonetisation

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