Bank frontline staff must speak local language

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked banks to ensure that frontline staff of banks speak the local language and do not invoke patriotism and question the customer for not knowing Hindi. “We cannot have staff who do not speak the local language and who demand from citizens that they speak in a particular language and say that unless they do it, they are not Indians,” said Sitharaman addressing the Indian Banks Association.

She asked banks to review the staff who are posted at branch levels. Sitharaman said at an IBA event that if banks had a problem mixing and matching staff and had staff who could not communicate at the local language, they should be kept away from customer facing jobs.