Nirmala Sitharaman announces merger of 10 state-run banks to form 4 mega PSBs; PNB-OBC-UBI to be 2nd-largest after SBI

A week after the government announced a slew of measures in a bid to boost the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday made another set of announcements aimed at strengthening banking structure in the country. 

Sitharaman said Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank will be merged to form the second-largest public sector bank with the business of Rs 17.95 lakh crore.

Also, Canara Bank will be merged with Syndicate Bank to form the fourth largest Public Sector Bank with a business of Rs 15.20 lakh crore.

Also Read: Govt announces mega-merger of state-run banks: Here is everything you need to know about new PSBs

Union Bank of India will be merged with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank to become the fifth-largest public sector bank now, she said at a press conference in New Delhi. 

On the other hand, Indian Bank will merge with Allahabad Bank to form the seventh-largest Public Sector Bank with a business of Rs 8.08 lakh crore.

The Finance Minister added that there will be two banks which will have national presence - Bank of India with Rs 9.3 lakh crore of business size and Central Bank with Rs 4.68 lakh crore of business size.

Also Read: Here is how mega-merger of PSBs will impact bank account holders

After the consolidation of these banks, India will now have 12 Public Sector Banks from 27 Public Sector Banks, she said. 

Last week, Ms Sitharaman had announced that the government would release Rs 70,000 crore for bank capitalisation. While this amount is to be released upfront, she also announced additional lending and liquidity to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore to PSBs.