RTI Report on Banks Closure or Merger in Last Fiscal
- In the massive consolidation drive of August 2019, ten public sector banks were merged into four, bringing down the count from 27 to 12 public sector banks.
Merger History of Banks
On August 30, 2019 Finance Minister announced the amalgamation of ten public sector banks into four big banks in which the six PSBs are merged with four better performing anchor banks to streamline their operation and size.
The Central Government on March 4 notified to amalgamate the merger of ten state run banks into four lenders to make stronger PSBs. As per the notification the merger of mega banks will be effective from April 1, 2020. Due to COVID-19 Bank officers union wrote letter to Prime Minister Modi to defer the merger of banks but Finance Nirmala Sitharaman has clarified clearly that this mega consolidation would take effect from April 1.
Merger of Banks as per the following order from April 1:
| Anchor Bank | Merged Banks | PSB Rank |
| Punjab National Bank | United Bank of India | 2nd largest |
| Oriental Bank of Commerce | ||
| Canara Bank | Syndicate Bank | 4th largest |
| Union Bank of India | Andhra Bank | 5th Largest |
| Corporation Bank | ||
| Indian Bank | Allahabad Bank | 7th largest |
Along with these four lenders, there would be totally ten banks under operation. They are as below:
| Anchor Bank | Merged Banks | Headquarters |
| Bank of Baroda | Vijaya Bank
Dena Bank |
Vadodara, Gujarat |
| Bank of Maharashtra | Pune, Maharashtra | |
| Bank of India | Mumbai, Maharashtra | |
| State Bank of India | Bharatiya Mahila Bank
State Bank of Indore State Bank of Travancore State Bank of Mysore State Bank of Patiala State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur State Bank of Hyderabad |
Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Punjab National Bank | United Bank of India
Oriental Bank of Commerce |
New Delhi |
| Punjab and Sind Bank | New Delhi | |
| Canara Bank | Syndicate Bank | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Indian Overseas Bank | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | |
| Indian Bank | Allahabad Bank | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| UCO Bank | Kolkatta, West Bengal | |
| Union Bank of India | Andhra Bank
Corporation Bank |
Mumbai, Maharashtra |
After this Amalgamation, Customers from the merging banks will be treated as the customers of the banks with which these banks have been merged which will be effective form April1, 2020.
It has been reported that about 2,118 branches of the ten PSBs have either been completely merged with other bank branches or shut down in the last fiscal year.This has not only pulled down the number of available PSBs but also have affected employment for many.
Bank unions showed a strong disapprovement towards the government’s decision of privatization of banks and bank mergers.
The highest number of 1,283 branches of Bank of Baroda were either closed or merged. No branch of Bank of India and UCO bank was closed in the last fiscal
According to the All India Bank Employees Association general secretary CH Venkatachalam that the dip in the number of the public sector banks was not interest in the banking industry and domestic economy. There was a need to expand the branches of the banks to cater to the vast population in the country.
