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Transactions
worth Rs 1,700cr affected at StanChart
Raghu
Mohan
Mumbai, Jan 4: Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) faced
a tough time in its inter-bank transactions on Friday due to
a nation-wide strike sponsored by the All-India Bank Employees
Association (AIBEA). In the wake of the strike, which was in
protest against forcible transfers in StanChart, clearance activity
of cheques was held up from Thursday itself. Inter-bank sources
said that nearly Rs 1,700 crore worth of transactions involving
the bank got affected, and the bank was seen asking for “RBI
cheques” to settle a few high-value deals.
Efforts by The Financial Express to get senior
StanChart officials on record proved futile as phone-lines appeared
dead. StanChart’s official spokersperson, now in the UK, said
the bank had no comment to make at present, and that it would
need a day to make specific remarks regarding its inter-bank
operations and clearing.
Sources familiar with clearing house operations at the Reserve
Bank (RBI) said that officials owing allegience to unions raised
hackles as cheques were being handled on StanChart’s behalf
by Scope International Pvt Ltd — which handles its back-office
operations including clearing — and that clearing house regulations
required that only permanent officials of a bank present intruments
for clearing, and not those on contract. Scope International
is in the StanChart fold.
“RBI cheques” are resorted to only when the bank does not participate
in the clearing house. The established practice is to settle
through inter-bank pay-orders.
Continued on Page 13 Senior treasury officials were categorical
that deals involving StanChart had been affected since Thursday,
and on Friday too, those involving the British Bank were next
to nothing even in a thin market.
The bank’s woes are seen mounting with the all-India bank employees’
Association (Aibea) now striving to push through a consensus
among various unions and its members including RBI’s class-III
and class-IV employees to ensure that StanChart’s instruments
for the clearing house are kept in abeyance.
Said the Maharashtra State Bank Employees’ Federations’ — owing
allegience with the Aibea — general secretary, S D Dopeshwarkar:
“We will take a decision on this matter next week. The bank
thinks that it can get away with anything”.
Thankfully though for StanChart, reporting Friday comes in only
on the 11 of this month. If the unions have their way, matters
would come to a boil for StanChart. It is not known at this
point in time whether the unions will single out only StanChart.
The StanChart group now includes the erstwhile ANZ Grindlays
Bank as well: Standard Chartered Grindlays.
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