New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
on Wednesday said the government has not yet taken a decision on
consolidation of public sector banks.
"We have not yet taken any decision (on PSU bank
consolidation)," Mukherjee told reporters after releasing a
book authored by former power secretary RV Shahi here today.
He added that if a policy decision is taken on this, it would
be announced in Parliament as it is in session.
The meeting between chairmen of Punjab Nation Bank, Bank
of Baroda, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Union
Bank of India with the Finance Ministry officials on November
18 had sparked off speculation over mergers and acquisitions
among the state-owned banks.
Two days after, Dena Bank Chairman and Managing Director
DL Rawal had also met the officials. This fuelled speculation
that the government might facilitate merger of Dena Bank with
Canara Bank, which would create an entity with expected
business of around Rs 5 lakh crore in the current fiscal.
In fact, Canara Bank Chairman and Managing Director AC
Mahajan had said, "we are looking at geographical synergy so
that where we are not present we should have an inorganic
growth."
Apart from the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra into
the parent SBI and the plans of another subsidiary, State Bank
of Indore, for the same, not much is happening on the
consolidation front of PSU banks as of now.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 20:56