Upset with ‘Loan to Adani’, customers are closing accounts with Bank of Baroda in UAE? No, finds Fact Check

A photo is becoming fiercely viral on social media. It can be seen in this photo that there is a line of customers in front of the Bank of Baroda. Social media users are claiming that this photo is of Bank of Baroda’s Al Ain branch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where customers are getting their accounts closed. Claims doing the rounds on social media say that the customers decided to close their accounts with Bank of Baroda after the bank’s CEO had given a statement to continue giving loans to the Adani Group.

Many verified users are sharing this photo with the same claim.

Many other users too have posted the picture with the same claims

Fact Check:

To fact-check the viral photo, the DFRAC team first checked the official Twitter account of the Bank of Baroda. We found an explanation in the pinned tweet. In this, it has been told that the bank had taken the decision to close the Al Ain branch of UAE a year ago and had also taken permission from the Central Bank of UAE a year ago. As per the notice issued to the customers on 20 January 2023, the branch will be closed by 22 March 2023.

The bank says that to ensure the continuity of banking services and to run them smoothly, all accounts are being transferred to UAE’s Abu Dhabi branch. Customers who want to close their accounts can do so before March 22.

At the same time, many media houses have also published reports in this context, which can be read here.

Conclusion:

It is clear from DFRAC’s fact check that the claims being made on social media are false. According to Bank of Baroda’s clarification, the decision to close the UAE Al Ain branch was taken a year ago and its permission was also taken from the Central Bank of UAE.