With bank employees unions joining the two-day Bharat Bandh, services in the banking sector is likely to be hit today during the strike. Several PSU bank branches may be closed as employee unions plan to gather outside the office to protest against a host of issues affecting the banking industry during the two-day bank strike. Private banks and even some state-run banks like the State Bank of India (SBI), however, are unlikely to be affected.

If the strike is a success, banks will be open only for three days this week — Monday, Thursday and Friday — as second Saturday is again a weekly holiday.

Two bank employee unions — All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) — have appealed all their members to join the strike. However, other unions have not supported the strike this time which may lead to normal functioning of several bank branches.