In an effort to make banking consolidation a success, the Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the merger of the State Bank of India (SBI) with its five associate banks and newly-set up Bharatiya Mahila Bank, a move that would make the State-owned lender a global-sized bank. The stocks of SBI and its associates surged up to 20 per cent after the go-ahead.
SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said, “The merger of SBI and its associate banks is a win-win for both. Currently, no Indian bank features in the top 50 banks of the world. With this merger, some visibility at global level is likely to increase.”
SBI’s five subsidiaries are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad. Among these State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Mysore and Travancore are listed.