Business is as usual for the bankers after the terrorist attack kept the entire city under its siege for nearly 60 hours. They have already made it clear that these kinds of incidents are not going to affect them.
Not to mention that at least two state-run banks including Central Bank of India and Andhra Bank were supposed to hold their board meetings at the Trident Hotel, which was kept under siege by the terrorists for more than 46 hours. Though their boards couldn?t meet in the hotel premises as per their plans due to the sordid episode that followed, but the bankers are firm that they will continue to hold significant meetings in Mumbai, whenever the need arose so. While Ashok Kapur, non-executive chairman of private lender, Yes Bank, died in the terrorist attack in the hotel, CM Puri, the workman director of the state-owned Central Bank of India, was injured in the incident at the same hotel while two other government-nominated directors of the banks, who had also checked in to the hotel immediately before the episode began, escaped unhurt, said the source.
Puri is currently undergoing treatment at Bombay Hospital.
Similar was the case with the two general managers of the Hyderabad-based Andhra Bank who had also checked into the hotel hours before the incident took place. However, after being held as hostage by the terrorists for more than 24 hours, their ordeal came to an end and they headed towards Hyderabad by the earliest available flight on November 27.
Talking to FE, Andhra Bank CMD, RS Reddy said we are not affected by the Mumbai incident at all as we are getting new business proposals from our clients as usual. Though we have rescheduled our board?s meeting at Hyderabad on December 6, we are all set to hold such meetings in Mumbai too whenever the need arises. The Trident Hotel and the Taj Mahal Hotel, both are strategically located in the heart of Mumbai, and hence they are preffered for holding press briefings and other functions by various financial institutions quite often.