SBH unions threaten stir

Hyderabad: With the union cabinet approving merger of five associate State Banks including State Bank of Hyderabad, with SBI, Telangana is set to lose its Nizamera bank.

SBH employees have decided to go on strike on July 28 and 29 against the merger. They demanded that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao get a unanimous resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly against the merger.

SBH employees claimed that the people of Telangana consider SBH as a bank of Telangana and the state government should not allow the Centre to wipe out SBH, which has been the identity of Telangana in the banking sector for about 75 years. Employees fear that their career growth prospects will also be hit after the merger as their present seniority would not be considered for promotion and other benefits.

Established as Hyderabad State Bank in 1941 by the erstwhile Nizam regime, the bank opened its first branch at Gunfoundry in the city in 1942. “Among all subsidiary State Banks, only SBH posted profits last year and it has the capacity to remain and function as an independent bank. There is no reason to merge SBH with SBI. It also results in revenue loss for Telangana government. Being located in Telangana, some portion of the bank’s profits are shared with the Telangana government. After merger, the share will go to Maharashtra as SBI headquarters are located in Mumbai,” said Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, honorary president of AP and Telangana Bank Employees Federation.

S.B.Rajasekhar, president, SBH Staff Association, said, “SBH should not be looked at as a mere bank. It has emotional and psychological attachment with the people of Telangana since it was set up by the erstwhile Nizam regime.”