MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank SS Mallikarjuna Rao has said that there will be no layoffs of employees due to the merger Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India with Punjab National Bank.
No Employee Lay-Offs
While informing further, Mr. Rao said “There will be no retrenchment of employees due to the merger Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India with Punjab National Bank: SS Mallikarjuna Rao, MD & CEO, Punjab National Bank,”.
On April 1, 2020, the merger of Punjab National Bank, United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce came into effect.
PNB – Second Largest Nationalized Bank
This will result in the creation of the second-largest nationalized bank of the country in terms of business and branch network.
It will also have a business of Rs 17.95 trillion (loans plus deposits) and that will be at least 1.5 times that of PNB.
It is expected in creation of a globally competitive, next-generation bank, PNB 2.0.
Further, the bank said that all customers, including depositors, will be treated as PNB customers only.
Mr. Rao said that the PNB has a strength of 1.03 lakh employees and, as the business grows, our employee strength will also grow.
Concern Over Moratorium
Apart from that, Mr. Rao has also shown concern over the extension of loan moratorium.
According to him, the moratorium on repaying loans till August 31 as announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not be extended as green shoots are emerging in the economy.
Similarly, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, and CII President Uday Kotak also expressed their concerns saying some of the borrowers who have the ability to pay are taking advantage of the relaxation.
Prior to this, during August, last year, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman had announced about the consolidation of 10 public lenders into four big banks.
Moreover, the government decided the merger of Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank and United Bank; Canara Bank and Syndicate Banks; Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank; and Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank.