SBI shares surge over 3% in morning trade

Shares of State Bank of India today surged over three per cent in early morning trade after its board cleared the merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself.

The board of SBI on August 18 approved scheme of merger of five associate lenders and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself while protecting the interest of the existing staff.

Following this, the shares of the bank opened on a bullish note at Rs 255, then surged 3.62 per cent to touch an early high of Rs 257.20 in morning trade on BSE.

State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur opened at Rs 690 and touched an early high of Rs 699.90, while State Bank of Travancore was trading at 538.20, up 6.40 per cent on the BSE in early trade.

However, State Bank of Mysore was trading in the negative territory at Rs 558.10, down 10.23 per cent over its previous closing price.

"The central board of directors of SBI has accorded its approval to the scheme of acquisition of the State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and Bharatiya Mahila Bank limited (BMBl) by the State Bank of India," SBI had said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges.

later, in an update, it also approved separate schemes of acquisition of State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad with SBI.