Public sector banks started sending
Officials from at least three large state-run banks returned to their Dubai offices last week after working from India for a short period following the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, sources said.
In April, banks transferred some executives handling treasury, wholesale banking and corporate banking operations to India as a precaution as the United States and Israel began firing missiles at Iran. In retaliation, Iran expanded its attacks in the Gulf region, targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
“Employees who were brought back as part of contingency measures have now returned to their respective branches as the situation has improved,” said a source in a large public sector bank.
Another official of a large government lender said treasury operations were controlled from the Mumbai office during this period, and there was no disruption in business operations.
State-owned lenders with branches in the Gulf region, particularly the Dubai International Financial Centre, had activated BCP measures while continuing to operate away from India.
During its post-earnings call earlier this month, Canara Bank said it has temporarily transferred some executives from its Dubai branch to India as a precautionary measure and is constantly reviewing the situation in consultation with a committee monitored by the Indian Banks Association (IBA).
“Only one of our branches was affected,” MD and CEO Hardeep Singh Ahluwalia said on the call. He said the bank had to bring its officials back from the Gulf to India for some time. “In the beginning, we planned [the move] For 10 days, but we will review the situation again. The monitoring committee of IBA is also continuously meeting with other banks and giving suggestions on how to deal with this. [with the situation]“He said.
Another banker at a large government-owned bank said the impact on operations remained limited as branches in the sector largely service wholesale and corporate banking customers.
