Mangaluru : The efforts to shift the head office of the prestigious 110-year-old Corporation Bank from Mangaluru to Bengaluru will be strongly opposed by every person in the coastal region, MLA J R Lobo said.

Addressing reporters here on Saturday, he said the bank’s Board of Directors has already taken a decision in this regard and the cost of shifting has been estimated to be Rs 1,000 crore. Stating that the bank head office is coming up on eight acres of land at Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Lobo said the board has approved McGann Constructions as the executive agency and M/s S S Infrastructure (Hyderabad) as their architect.

Quite interestingly, nowhere in the board decision (dated August 24, 2016), the word “shifting” has been used.

He said the Corporation Bank is one of the prestigious banks in the country and one among five nationalised banks started in the erstwhile Dakshina Kannada district.

The bank, which has 2,300 branches, 3,040 ATMs and 240 e-lobbies, recorded loss (Rs 506 crore in 2015-16) for the first time in its history of 110 years. “At a time when the bank has registered Rs 506 crore loss, what is purpose of shifting the bank at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore?” he said and urged the bank authorities to explain the purpose of their move as it is the public money which they are using.

Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Jeevan Saldanha said the bank was considered as “our bank” by many people in the coastal region.

“With the shifting of the head office, a large number of people would lose their jobs,” he said and questioned the purpose of shifting the bank to already congested city, when the government is trying to promote tier-II cities.

Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) district president D B Mehta said the move would hit the real estate very hard as a number of employees have either purchased apartments or staying in flats.

Mayor Harinath said efforts would be made to stop shifting of the bank’s head office by all parties. The Union Ministry of Commerce as well as RBI authorities would be approached through MPs Oscar Fernandes, M Veerappa Moily and Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda.

Hotel Owners’ Association President Kudpi Jagadish Shenoy said that by the time the coastal region people realised that Canara Bank and Vijaya Bank are shifting, it was too late. Though Syndicate Bank head office is in the coastal region, the real head office is in Bengaluru, Shenoy added.

With Corporation Bank shifting its head office, the Mangalureans would lose the only remaining nationalised bank in its place of birth, he regretted.