Banks' operations were partially affected in some parts of the country due to stike called by All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA).

The strike was in protest of the consolidation moves in the country, primarily those in the State Bank Group. The government says that consolidation is essential for the economy.

The strike, however, did not have a major impact on the system, said Indian Banks' Association's Chief Executive, K Ramakrishnan.

He said that the strike was only partial and there were not many issues in the system except in clearing operations of some banks. Despite the protest, major branches of many banks in Mumbai, the financial hub of the country, functioned smoothly.

However, operations of those branches located in the North-East of the country were partially affected due to absence of adequate staff, IDBI Bank's head, personal banking,C S Jain, pointed out.

S Govindan, General Manager, Union Bank of India, said that the bank's cash and clearing transactions were affected only in certain branches.

"Cash, forex and clearing operations were affected in only those branches where there were more members of All India Bank Employees' Association and All India Bank Officers' Association," Govindan added.

C H Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA said that around 4 lakh employees of private sector and old generation banks participated in the strike.

The industry body, ASSOCHAM, also says that consolidation of banks is necessary to boost global competitiveness, According to a study, the size of Indian banks in terms of their assets is too small to make optimum use of their capacities for raising capital at globally competitive rates.