Finmin awaits law ministry advice on SBI-SBS merger

The board of SBI and State Bank of Saurashtra had already given their nod for the proposed merger in August last year despite opposition from a section of bank employees.The proposed merger would be the first of its kind among public sector banks.The finance ministry has sought the law ministry’s advice on the merger which is yet to come. Once the advice comes, the proposal would go to the Cabinet for approval

Speaking on the merger, SBI chairman OP Bhat had earlier said “other formalities regarding the merger have been completed and only the government approval remains.” Since State Bank of Saurashtra was a 100% subsidiary of SBI, the merger was only a technical process, he had said.

SBI also convened a meeting to consider merger proposal with other associate banks in January but was postponed later following opposition from the unions.

SBI plans to raise Rs 10,000 cr by December

The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore by December, a top bank official has said."We plan to raise Rs 10,000 crore by December and we are evaluating various options of fund-raising," SBI Chairman O P Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference here on Wednesday.

The process of consolidation within the SBI group had been kicked off recently with the decision to merge State Bank of Saurashtra with the group.However, no timeframe has been set for consolidation with the other associate banks of SBI.

Bhatt said there had been a fall in credit demand but this month has seen a pick-up.
On NPAs, he said the issue was not a concern for the industry at the moment. However, with the economy growing at nine per cent in the last two years and with bank credit growing at 30 per cent in the last four years, substantial assets had been built up.

Read more in The Economic Times article.