GUWAHATI: The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees across public sector banks, has expressed strong objection to what it perceives as an implicit endorsement of bank privatisation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her recent address at the Delhi School of Economics.
Responding to the Minister’s remarks that appeared to downplay concerns about the impact of privatisation on financial access, UFBU said such a stance overlooks the crucial role public sector banks (PSBs) have played in expanding credit to farmers, small businesses, and weaker sections since bank nationalisation in 1969.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, UFBU General Secretary Rupam Roy recalled that nationalisation transformed banking from an elite service into a tool of social and economic inclusion.
Roy said PSBs were instrumental in taking credit to rural areas, supporting priority sectors, and executing government programmes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Direct Benefit Transfers, and pension payments—areas where private banks have limited presence.
UFBU argued that portraying privatisation as a pathway to efficiency ignores the risks of exclusion and instability.
“Private banks serve where profits are high; they shut unprofitable branches, raise service charges, and avoid weaker segments. In times of crisis, it is the public banks that stand with the nation,” the statement said, citing past private bank failures that were ultimately rescued by PSBs.
The union also rejected the view that public ownership hampers professionalism, asserting that reforms in governance, technology, and accountability can strengthen PSBs without altering their ownership.
Calling public sector banks “national assets,” UFBU urged the government to assure that no PSB will be privatised and instead focus on capital support, modernisation, and transparency. It also demanded wider public consultation before any policy move that could affect depositors, employees, or the broader public interest.
