Andhra Bank Officers’ Union has on Thursday said any proposal to merge Andhra Bank with other banks will be contested in all possible ways.
Responding to news on the threat to bank in view of high Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), its General Secretary I. Haranath said when similar situation emerged in 1995-96, bank came back to profits within a span of 30 months.
``Like wise we definitely cross the hurdle. If we get back the debt waiver promises made by the respective State Governments in full, NPAs is not a problem for the bank,’’ he said.
Major NPAs were due to high net worth borrowers from the infrastructure which went bust on account of government policies not because of employees,’’ he added. Andhra Bank was growing fast with a pan India presence of 2,200 branches as on now and planning to open another 200 branches by March end.
``Hence, any hasty decision of GoI/MoF for mergers will be fought and the identity of the bank will be preserved by taking the support of top management, politicians, stakeholders, strong and dedicated 22,000 staff of the bank,’’ he added.
The employees would stand by the decision of the top management for any action programme formulated for recovery of stressed assets in coming months, he added.