SBI merges 5 Associate Banks; operations begin from today

India's largest bank in terms of assets, State Bank of India on Saturday announced that it has merged its five associate banks besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself with effect from today.

The five associate banks are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore. 

With this merger, the bank has joined the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets.  The total customer base of the Bank willreach 37 crores with a branch network of around 24000 and nearly 59000 ATMs across the country, the bank said in a release.

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The merged entity will have a deposit base of more than Rs. 26 lac crores and advances level of 18.50 lac crores.

Speaking on the merger, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI, said, "We welcome the customers, employees and all other stakeholders of Associate Banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) to SBI fold. The Bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter. The combined entity will enhance the productivity, mitigate geographical risks, increase operational efficiency and drive synergies across multiple dimensions while ensuring increased levels of customer delight.”

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As per the release, post- merger, the bank will rationalize its branch network by relocating some of the branches to maximize the reach.  This will help the bank to optimize its operations and improve profitability. Integration of Treasuries of the Associate Banks with the Treasury of SBI will bring in substantial cost saving and synergy in Treasury operations.

Last week, Rajnish Kumar, SBI Managing Director, told IANS in an interview, had said that the total workforce of SBI will see a reduction over the next two years, after the merger with six entities, owing to attrition, reduced hiring and digitisation.

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He had said, "Manpower will go down with the period of time. Around 10% reduction in two years may be a possibility."

On Friday, the shares of SBI closed at Rs 292.60 per piece, up 0.90% or Rs 2.60 on BSE.