After nearly a year of repeated representations and petitions by various bank employee unions, five days banking is closer to becoming a reality soon.

According to highly placed sources, in a meeting held on July 28 by the Indian Banking Association (IBA), a representative body of managements of Indian banks, the industry demand for put forth by banks employee unions to declare all Saturdays as a bank holiday is said to have been accepted by the industry body. The IBA has forwarded the petition to the ministry of finance for its approval.

If approved, it would mean that bank branches will work only for five days in a week, that is, Monday to Friday. The daily work hours at branches, though, could be extended by 45 minutes.