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Business Standard
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Bengal may lose ₹25 cr GST as SBI shifts key unit from Kolkata to Mumbai
Kolkata faces a potential state GST loss of nearly Rs 25 crore this fiscal year as the State Bank of India (SBI) moves to relocate its Global Market Unit (GMU) from Kolkata to Mumbai, a civil society organisation has claimed. This proposed shift has drawn protests from civil society groups like Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch (Save Bank, Save Nation Platform), describing SBI's decision as "arbitrary and opaque". "The GMU and associated units contribute significantly to state revenues via GST, nearly Rs 25 crore this fiscal year. Additionally, over 70 contractual staff stand to lose their jobs," Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch joint convenors Biswaranjan Ray and Soumya Datta said in a complaint. The State Bank of India recently stated that decisions regarding the opening, shifting, or rationalisation of branches and offices are part of an ongoing business process based on evolving operational and administrative needs. This explanation was provided by the Deputy General Manager (Operations), SBI Corporate Centre, in a letter dated June 11, 2025, which responded to a previous complaint from Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch to the President of India in March. The Manch found SBI's reply to be "generic and bureaucratic", and "devoid of substance or justification". The group also noted that it neither addressed the core issues raised nor provided a rationale for the displacement of strategic banking operations. The Manch then complained to the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) under the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Protestors have highlighted several concerns beyond the potential GST loss, including the disregard of historical and legal commitments, specifically a 2008 agreement between the bank and its federations to retain the GMU (which evolved from the erstwhile Foreign Department) in Kolkata. The GMU's shifting is part of a "pattern of systemic marginalisation" of Kolkata's and West Bengal's institutional roles within India's banking landscape, the forum claimed. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
SBI takes firm stand on shifting key departments from Kolkata to Mumbai
State Bank of India ( SBI ), the mass lender that traces its origin to the 1806 Bank of Calcutta , has now moved a step closer to its long-term plan to shift several key departments of its global market unit from Kolkata to Mumbai as part of a centralization initiative . Some local civil society platforms have opposed the plan. "We advise that opening/shifting/rationalisation of branches/offices is a continuous process undertaken by the bank in the normal course of business and such initiatives are taken after due consideration of the evolving business/operational requirements and administrative exigencies," SBI said in a letter to Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch , a civil society platform contesting the migration. ET reviewed a copy of the letter dated June 6, 2025. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If you have a mouse, play this game for 1 minute Navy Quest Undo The secretary of Bank Bachao Desh Bachao Manch, Soumya Dutta, is a former general secretary of the State Bank of India Officers' Federation. This platform was protesting SBI's proposed centralization move the past couple of years and had written to the President of India in March this year, seeking her direct intervention. SBI's 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. Live Events The back office caters to customers in Sydney, Bahrain, Hong Kong, London and New York. In 2024, the bank initiated plans to shift the CGBO, along with the forex treasury, derivatives and structured products divisions, to Mumbai, but slowed the process following protests from a section of employees in Kolkata. The plan received a fresh push under chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, who took over as chairman in August last year. The CGBO was set up in 2015 when Anundhati Bhattacharya was the chairperson of the state-run bank - the most-valued government asset. The global market unit has about 150 officers and about 70 contractual staff, people aware of the details said. SBI officers' unions in Kolkata have so far not been at the vanguard of the protests. "We will request the chief minister to prevent the plan to shift the global market unit from Kolkata to Mumbai. The state government earns significant revenue from this department. We will also urge her to take up the matter with the central government," State Bank of India Officers' Association general secretary (Bengal Circle) Shubhajyoti Chattopadhyay told ET Thursday. The state government earns around Rs 30-32 crore in goods and service tax from the global market unit, people aware said.
