Banks in Karnataka will be closed for four consecutive days starting from Saturday, October 29. The weekend (all banks are closed second and fourth Saturdays of every month) this time combines with Diwali on October 31 and Karnataka Rajyotsava Day on November 1, making for four days at a stretch for bank employees.
State Bank of Mysore and Vijaya Bank confirmed the four-day closure to International Business Times, India. An ICICI Bank employee also said that its offices will be closed for four days in Karnataka.
The concept of bank holidays on second and fourth Saturdays was implemented from September 1, 2015.
While retail customers will not be affected as they can withdraw cash from ATMs, business enterprises, especially could find it challenging since they tend to undertake huge cash withdrawals and also deposit cash collected from festival sales that tend to spike during Diwali.
If cash withdrawals at ATMs rise sharply, there could be problems of timely replenishment and causing inconvenience to customers.
