Under World Bank-initiated reforms, the government is implementing a programme to rationalise the rural branches. Ironically, in the 1970s and early 1980s, rural bank expansion was carried out under advice from foreign consultants eager to direct credit to the rural masses. A highly placed government official says NCBS have too many branches and that their management lacks the expertise and technical support to handle such large organisations. Many officials promoted from the ranks simply because of their trade-union affiliations are not up to the task. He suggests closure of money-losing rural branches by way of splitting them into smaller, more manageable banking units.
Some bankers say things are improving a little.
He feels that union militancy is on the wane, and that managers are gradually restoring authority over individual bank employees. Loanrecovery rates are rising, although public debt remains a problem. With the establishment of a democratically elected government and readoption of a parliamentary system of government, transparency in public institutions is gradually improving. Although the government has not been able completely to restore industrial peace and remove militant trade unionism, the managers of banks and publicsector enterprises are being allowed to work independently. Bank management is under constant pressure from the government to deliver, which has helped improve the situation somewhat.