State Bank of India is believed to have renewed the process of shifting several divisions under its global market unit from Kolkata to Mumbai as part of a move to centralise operations.
The Kolkata-based global market unit comes under the bank's corporate office in Mumbai. It has 10 departments, including international remittances, a Centralised Global Back Office (CGBO) and forex treasury. The unit was earlier known as the foreign currency department.
The nation's largest lender last year initiated plans to shift the CGBO, along with the forex treasury, derivatives and structured products divisions, to Mumbai, but put the process on the back burner due to protests from a section of employees in Kolkata. The bank has now given a fresh push to the plan, two people in the know said.
The back office caters to customers in Sydney, Bahrain, Hong Kong, London and New York. It works 24x7 and remains open even during bank strikes as per an agreement with union members. The CGBO was set up in 2015 during Arundhati Bhattacharya's tenure as chairperson. The global market unit has 150 officers and 70 contractual staff, people aware of the details said.
SBI did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch, which has been protesting against the plan since last year, has written to President Droupadi Murmu, requesting her to intervene. "We earnestly appeal to your esteemed office to intervene and ensure that SBI's Global Market Unit continues to function from Kolkata. The politically motivated relocation of this vital unit must be thwarted in the greater interest of financial decentralisation and regional economic stability," the body's said.
The Kolkata-based global market unit comes under the bank's corporate office in Mumbai. It has 10 departments, including international remittances, a Centralised Global Back Office (CGBO) and forex treasury. The unit was earlier known as the foreign currency department.
The nation's largest lender last year initiated plans to shift the CGBO, along with the forex treasury, derivatives and structured products divisions, to Mumbai, but put the process on the back burner due to protests from a section of employees in Kolkata. The bank has now given a fresh push to the plan, two people in the know said.
The back office caters to customers in Sydney, Bahrain, Hong Kong, London and New York. It works 24x7 and remains open even during bank strikes as per an agreement with union members. The CGBO was set up in 2015 during Arundhati Bhattacharya's tenure as chairperson. The global market unit has 150 officers and 70 contractual staff, people aware of the details said.
SBI did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch, which has been protesting against the plan since last year, has written to President Droupadi Murmu, requesting her to intervene. "We earnestly appeal to your esteemed office to intervene and ensure that SBI's Global Market Unit continues to function from Kolkata. The politically motivated relocation of this vital unit must be thwarted in the greater interest of financial decentralisation and regional economic stability," the body's said.
