The Hindu Business Line : SBI Home Fin officers contest closure move

THE All-India SBI Home Finance Officers' Association has billed State Bank of India's proposal to close down the operations of its housing finance subsidiary as "questionable'' and "arbitrary''.

The association, according to senior SBI HF executives, has sought to draw the attention of all concerned to the SBI proposal.

It has also alleged that the National Housing Bank, the regulatory authority, had been kept in the dark about the closure proposal.

``In a veiled decision, the bank directed the management of SBI HF to issue a directive to all our branches to hand over performing individual housing loans created by us to SBI branches. This, we feel, is a violation of the Companies Act and amounts to an unfair trade practice,'' a statement issued by the association maintained.

The housing finance outfit, it was further stated, has "not yet paid its public deposit liabilities of over Rs 130 crore and (is) indulging in siphoning out performing individual loan assets.''

The entire issue, according to the officers' body, has raised doubts about the intention of the top management of the parent bank.

The SBI chief, Mr Janki Ballabh, had recently stated that the bank wouldl take a decision on the matter in the next fiscal.

``Let me clarify that no decision has yet been taken on SBI HF. We are contemplating a revival package for the company,'' Mr Ballabh told presspersons on the sidelines of the recent Bank Economists Conference 2001 in Kolkata.

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