CALCUTTA, February 6: Foreign exchange brokers are making a desperate bid to prevent the State Bank of India from shifting its forex operations to Mumbai. They feel that the decision is politically motivated and will destroy the Calcutta market and its brokers.Calcutta Exchange and Bullion Brokers' Association president R G Lakhotia and Calcutta Exchange Brokers' Association chairman R R Puri said, in a joint statement on Friday, that the SBI (being the market leader with a 50 per cent share in the forex business volumes) has a "social obligation" and should ensure that its action does not upset the balance in regional forex markets.
They claimed that large parts of Mumbai's business do not originate from Mumbai.
Calcutta's business is mostly transferred to Mumbai for inter-bank dealings through some foreign banks and a few Indian banks which have already shifted their dealings from the city.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
