Global Trust Bank – now amalgamated with Ove. Review on Oriental Bank of Commerce

Last month on the 25th July, when I left for Sahar airport very early morning to catch my Emirates flight to Dubai en route Istanbul, little did I know that Global Trust Bank is already in front page news! Private Bank on the verge of collapse! Busted Bank!

etc etc.

Almost from the day it opened its Branch in Sion, I volunteered to open an account as it was a small outfit with lot of helping hands and very convenient operating hours, almost round the week. Slowly apart from our joint S/B account, we went on expanding our financial interests with Global Trust Bank (GTB) through investments in FDs and much later through Demat accounts. We enjoyed personal relationship with all employees including Branch Manager, all young, dynamic, hardworking, helpful and courteous people.

So when I received the news of sudden moratorium put by the RBI on GTB to save guard investors’ money I was somewhat taken aback. It was shocking in a sense as only few days back we extended many of our FDs totaling almost a million for short term till we could invest elsewhere. My wife was in serious dilemma as our major savings are in jeopardy. But, the Government’ assurance and RBI’s quick action (which took the Bank employees by surprise, as I came to know later) were somewhat stress relieving. Still anxiety persists unless one actually knows the ground reality.

Almost two years back when GTB was in news due to large NPAs created by over ambitious and imprudent Chairman of the bank, Mr. Gelli by investing in equities in highly volatile market in nexus with Ketan Parekh, downfall of this bank started then. However back of my mind, I had a gleam hope that GTB will get over this problem slowly though prudence and hard work with transparency in its operations. Little did we know that higher echelons of the Bank , they were messing up with accounting practice to conceal heavy losses due to NPAs/bad debts.

Organisation, I strongly believe, is of the people, by the people and for the people (like Abe Lincoln’s concept of Democracy!) and unless the operation is transparent with focused goal serving the objectives of all stake holders, it can not prosper and ultimately may not even last. When individual interests overtake the organisation goal, every thing gets drifted. Catastrophe then occurs suddenly as it happened with GTB.

Fortunately for GTB, there was a rescuer, which many defaulting private banks will not have. The Management of Overseas Bank of Commerce (OBC), I hope, have the sagacity and a long term plan to get their amalgamated partner on road of recovery through proper banking operations with total transparency to public. After transferring our major funds, we have gone back again to erstwhile local GTB Branch (now OBC) to open few FDs on our existing account. I believe, once beaten twice shy---amalgamated GTB with OBC will open up afresh and usher into a new phase of banking activities, supplementing their inherent strengths to the benefits of investing public.