Associate banks merger to make SBI top-50 bank globally: Bhattacharya

Mumbai: Arundhati Bhattacharya, State Bank of India chairperson, has said merger of associate banks will bring SBI among top 50 global banks, apart from making the already largest lender a banking behemoth in country.

“Expect associate bank merger to complete in FY18,” ET Now quoted Bhattacharya as saying. According her, the bank would not want to do associate banks merger close to FY17-end as it may not be a good idea.

The merger of Bharatiya Mahila Bank along with five SBI associate banks would create a banking behemoth worth $555 billion or Rs 37 lakh crore, according to reports.

The bank that has blamed demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes for delay in associate bank merger said country’s largest public lender will have a single treasury in place of six post merger.

Bhattacharya said she expected government shareholding will increase post associate bank merger. “We are not concerned about capital as of now. The capital that we have as of now was well above minimum stipulated level,” she said.

Bhattacharya who was among top contenders for RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s successor believed that the merger would create a strong bank with cutting-edge technology.

“Do not see any wage-related changes post SBI-associate banks merger,” she explained. The five banks from SBI family are; State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Hyderabad.