New Delhi: It seems Government is looking bank merger as the possible solution to fight bad loans. According to a source, the government is analyzing the merger of Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank.
The development comes days after the Centre announced a plan to merge three public sector lenders — Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.
As per the recent report of DNA Money, after deciding to merge Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, the government is likely to announce the merger of three other banks before the end of the year.
The report suggested that the three public sector banks (PSBs) are likely to be Punjab National Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Andhra Bank.
The source said that the government wants only a few large banks in the country this is why it is keen on bank merger.
The government is reportedly holding talks with banking officials to examine the feasibility of such a merger and will likely announce the move before December 31.
On September 17, the central government announced the proposal to merge three public sector lenders — BoB, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.
The cabinet is likely to approve a scheme of amalgamation of Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank and BoB next week, the report adds.
The three state-run banks would work on a strict timeline and necessary regulatory process is expected to be over by the end of 2018-19, they said, adding that the merged entity should be operational from April 1, 2019.
The move follows top lender State Bank of India (SBI) merging five of its subsidiary banks with itself last year and taking over Bharatiya Mahila Bank, catapulting it to be among top 50 global lenders.
