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Cross-selling Pressure on APGVB and TGB Employees
Employees and Officials of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) and Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB) are protesting the intense pressure to cross-sell third-party products, arguing that it compromises core banking services and undermines the primary mission of serving rural communities.
Author: Saurav Kumar
Published: October 16, 2024
The Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) and Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB) are under immense pressure of cross-selling of the third party products (TPPs). Both the RRBs, sponsored by the State Bank of India (SBI), are facing an imminent threat from the overemphasis on cross-selling which is challenging the core banking services.
Resistance Against Cross-selling
A recent campaign by the Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank Officers' Association (APGVBOA) and the APGVB Employees Union (APGVBEU), employees have reached a point of agitation, protesting against this pressure through non-cooperation, agitating against login days, and boycotting the sale of third-party products.
The poster campaigns, driven by the slogan “Together we can. Together we will,” highlight the union's demand to revise loan limits and interest rates, bringing them on par with their sponsor bank, SBI. According to the unions, the persistent push to sell insurance policies, along with other third-party products, has caused frustration among bank employees, who are forced to achieve these sales targets under intense psychological pressure.
An employee of the APGVBEU told Kanal, “During the current financial year, till October 16 2024, 13 campaigns pertaining to cross-selling products viz., SBI Life Insurance, SBI General Insurance and SBI Mutual funds were observed by the bank and there was not a single day starting from 18.04.2024, when there was no campaign for cross-selling business. Subsequently this pressure has severely affected the morale and well-being of employees, reducing banking from a service-oriented profession to one burdened by unfair sales mandates.”
Another employee said, “Staff members who sell the most insurance products are rewarded with gifts during review meetings and weekend trips to exotic locations, disguised as training programs. Even the top management receives similar rewards.”
The Bancassurance Model
An anonymous employee of the TGB shared an insightful explanatory document titled “Bancassurance Killing Banks?” that paints a bleak picture of how selling complex and often less valuable insurance products like Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) and traditional insurance is detrimental to customers and compromises bank integrity.
According to the document, when banks partner with insurance companies to sell mutual funds and insurance schemes treating them as a revenue stream with an aim to earn substantial profit, it is called the bancassurance model.
With constant login days for cross-selling, many employees have voiced their distress, stating that every review meeting revolves around insurance targets, which overshadow core banking services.
Image: The document by an anonymous banker explaining the Bancassurance Model
The unions in APGVB and TGB remain resolute in their protest, stressing the conflict of interest arising from the aggressive cross-selling of TPPs. They argue that this shift undermines the core business and responsibilities of RRBs, diverting attention from their primary goal of serving rural communities.