BEFI alleges that offloading SBI shares worth Rs 25000 Crores is a step towards privatisation.

Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) has alleged that the Centre’s move to sell shares of State Bank of India (SBI) worth Rs 25,000 crore is an open attempt to privatize the bank in a phased manner sacrificing national interests.

“In 2017, the bank had sold 522 million shares. This reduced the government’s stake in the bank to 56.92%. Now, with the completion of the targeted share sale, the government’s stake will diminish below 55% percent“, BEFI vice president Saji Varghese said. “The sale of shares through qualified institutional placement has been reported by national media”, he added.

“Despite the vacancies of about one lakh employees and officers, the outsourcing of jobs and the deployment of daily wage workers without making them permanent is a prelude to privatisation… After the budget presentation, the Union Finance Minister had announced that government would sell shares of public sector banks including SBI. Other public sector banks are also preparing for share sale“, he said.

The privatisation of the country’s largest public sector bank, SBI, will have far-reaching consequences. Public sector banks serve as a protective shield for the Indian economy. It is this protective shield that is being undermined through bank privatisation, he stated.

“The moment banks come under the control of corporates, services for the common people will get affected and services will be limited to the elite class“, he added.

The SBI plans to support loan growth, strengthen its balance sheet and meet regulatory requirements. It’s also the first time since 2017 that the lender, majority owned by the government, tapped the equity market.

Team Maverick