Catholic Syrian Bank - Merger With Federal Bank - Opposition To The Merger

Opposition To The Merger

The merger of the Federal Bank and Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) had been opposed by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur. The church had been opposing the move, saying that the regional identity of the bank would be lost due to the proposed merger. In particular, the Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur Mar Andrews Thazhath had vehemently opposed the merger. All the political parties had also supported the church’s views as it has a big hold among the electorates of the central districts of Kerala. Earlier, the Catholic Church even mooted a proposal to purchase the shares owned by Surachan Chansri Chawla, a Bangkok-based Indian businessman who holds a 23 per cent stake in CSB, in order to have more say in the bank.

A “CSB Protection Committee”, which has Archbishop of the Thrissur as patron, has been formed to oppose the merger with the Federal Bank. The committee said that any attempt to merge CSB with any other bank would be resisted. It added that to ensure that “the bank which is dear to the people of Thrissur retains its identity, it will line up investors to buy CSB shares. The church has in the past opposed a takeover of CSB; in the mid-’90s when Surachan Chawla bought a stake of about 38%, the church, led by then bishop Joseph Kundukulam, had said any attempt to take over the bank had to be opposed. In February, 2010, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur raised around Rs 250 crore from NRI investors from the state to buy a substantial stake in the bank. This amount would be used to buy around 30% stake in the bank. If the church manages to buy the stakes of Chawla and the Mauritius-based PEs, it would enable the Christian community to ensure an indirect control on the management of the Catholic Syrian Bank. The Church already enjoys a significant control over the bank through various investors, who would stand for community’s interest.