Coronavirus impact: bank merger taking place through video conference meetings

As the process of merger between Indian Bank and Allahabad Bank entered its last leg, a senior official of the city-based lender on Tuesday said it is avoiding physical meetings with field staff and arranging video-conferences in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The board meetings of the lender are currently being held through video-conferences, they said. "The merger process is going on smoothly and there has been no disruption due to the coronavirus outbreak. The only difference is that instead of having physical meetings with the field staff we are now having video conferences as the process has entered its last leg," a senior official of Allahabad Bank told PTI.

He said physical meetings are now being avoided following the government advisories to prevent the spread of the disease. "Online training programmes are being arranged so that the merger process does not get derailed," the official said.

After completion of the merger process, the new entity will start functioning from April 1, 2020. Indian Bank is the acquiror while Allahabad Bank is the transferor in the process. "Even the board meetings are being held through video- conferences," the official said. He also said, "Now we are training the field staff regarding the products and processes, service charges and interest rates which are now being harmonised. This information is being disseminated to the field-level functionaries."

The government in August last year had announced four major mergers of publics sector banks, a move aimed at making state-owned lenders global sized banks. Another city-based lender United Bank of India (UBI) and Oriental Bank of Commerce will also be amalgamated with Punjab National Bank. "In view of coronavirus pandemic, meetings are being conducted through video conferencing for smooth running of operations," an UBI official said.

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