The Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has announced the closure of 51 branches across the country as part of cost-cutting measures being implemented in the banking industry, an official of the bank said on Wednesday.
All the branches of the public sector bank (PSB) were in urban centres and they have been identified for the action as they were declared non-viable and incurred huge losses, said the official of the Pune-headquartered bank. Declining to be identified, the senior bank official said these branches would be merged with neighbouring branches.
This is the first such measure initiated by any PSB in Maharashtra. The BoM has around 1,900 branches all over the country. In a terse announcement, the BoM said it had closed down and merged these 51 branches for public convenience.
The IFSC Code and MICR codes of these branches have also been cancelled and all the savings, current and other bank accounts have been transferred to the branches with which they have been merged.
All customers have been directed to deposit their cheque books issued from the closed branches with the old IFSC/MICR Codes by November 30, and collect their payment instruments bearing the new branch’s IFCS/MICR codes.
The BoM cautioned that since the old IFSC/MICR codes have been spiked and shall be discontinued permanently from December 31, the customers, henceforth, should conduct all their banking transactions only with the new IFSC/MICR codes.
