BackBank of Baroda arranges alternative sites for two key operations outside Maharashtra
Maharashtra, India’s financial capital, has over 2,600 patients infected by the deadly virus, highest among all states The bank wants to ensure that its information technology and treasury functions are coronavirus-proof
PremiumPublic sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) has made arrangements for alternative facilities to run its information technology and treasury operations outside Maharashtra as part of its business continuity plan to counter the covid-19 pandemic, said Sanjiv Chadha, chief executive of the bank.
He said that the bank realised that if it could keep two critical functions – information technology (IT) and treasury – running, then the bank will keep running. “We had to make sure that the bank is covid-19 proof when it came to these two functions," Chadha told Mint over phone, adding that the bank has made sure that its IT facilities run out of Hyderabad and the treasury from Vadodara.
Maharashtra, India’s financial capital, has over 2,600 patients infected by covid-19, highest among all states. Since most of India’s top commercial banks are based in Mumbai, lenders have had to device strategies so that important operations do not come to a halt.
“For us, the priority was to keep the bank running because in these times while you cannot have the exalted status of health workers and policemen, banks are very critical in terms of their contribution to making sure that the economy is running," said Chadha.
According to him, when the management realised that employees are not able to come to their headquarters in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), it allowed people to work from other offices like the one in Ballard Estate. The bank also activated some branches towards Navi Mumbai so that staff who cannot travel to BKC can sit in these offices.
“We soon realised that the situation was worsening and there is a possibility that people cannot make it to places of work in Mumbai," he said.
Chadha said that that the bank has been having its credit committee meetings pretty much as usual.
“The volume of credit proposals, which is typically high at this time of the year, is quite high," he said.
The bank, he said, has put in place a scheme whereby all its corporate and small business customers have access to an emergency facility that corresponds to 10% of their fund-based facilities. It has also allowed 20% of the emergency facility to be drawn, despite no drawing power, for payment of salaries.
“For small businesses, we are also trying to see if we can have a format for these applications which can be electronically transmitted and approved," said Chadha.
Several public sector banks like State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India, Bank of India (BoI), Indian Bank and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) have rolled out similar facilities for its borrowers. Mint reported on 26 March that state-run banks have stepped up with emergency funds to help companies continue operations and even pay employee salaries, as corporate borrowers frantically seek help to tide over the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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