Scams happen due to loopholes in the system: Bank officers' body

The All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) today alleged that most financial scams take place due to loopholes in the system.

At a public meeting here on "Crisis in the Banking Sector", the confederation, along with other associations and trade unions like the Centre for Financial Accountability, the National Alliance of People's Movement and the New Trade Union Initiative, looked into recent financial scams and held talks on the "legal loot of the public money".

"Why the RBI, the finance ministry, the CVC and others in the government wake up only when a major scam surfaces? Why are we not analysing the failure of the system? What is the role of the government and its policies which cause system failures and scams? There have been Harshad Mehta scam, Ketan Parekh scam and the NPA scam due to misuse and loopholes in the system," D T Franco, general secretary of AIBOC said.

While discussing the topic, the panelists also dwelt on the issue of privatisation of banks, which they alleged had been advised by the chief economic adviser to the Centre.

During the meeting, some suggested that the government publish the names of bank loan defaulters and direct the banks to write to the home minister to make entry in the passports of the directors of these companies so that they cannot flee the country.