The government on Friday unveiled a mega plan to merge 10 public sector banks into four as part of plans to create fewer and stronger global-sized lenders as it looks to boost economic growth from a six-year low.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced four new set of mergers — Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will combine to form the nation’s second-largest lender; Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank will merge; Union Bank of India will amalgamate with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank; and Indian Bank will merge with Allahabad Bank.
Post the mega merger, here are the six PSU banks that will remain independent: Indian Overseas Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab and Sind Bank, which have strong regional focus, will continue as separate entities.
Bank of India and Central Bank of India will also continue to operate separately as before.
Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank will merge into Punjab National Bank to create a bank with ₹17.95 lakh crore business and 11,437 branches.
The merger of Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank will create the fourth largest public sector bank with ₹15.20 lakh crore business and a branch network of 10,324. Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank’s merger with Union Bank of India will create India’s fifth largest public sector bank with ₹14.59 lakh crore business and 9,609 branches.
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The merger of Allahabad Bank with Indian Bank will create the seventh largest public sector bank with ₹8.08 lakh crore business with strong branch networks in the south, north and east of the country, Sitharaman said.
Last year, the government had merged Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda, creating the third-largest bank by loans in the country.
After the mergers, the country will have 12 public sector banks, including State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
