Union Cabinet approves merger of 5 associate banks with SBI

The Union Cabinet on 15 February 2017 approved the merger of the State Bank of India with five of its associate banks.

These five associate banks are State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, and State Bank of Patiala.

The merger proposal was announced in May 2016 and was scheduled for March 2017.

The merger will create a bank with a projected asset book of Rs 37 lakh crore by 31 March 2017. In addition, it is also likely to result in recurring savings, estimated at more than Rs 1000 crore in the first year, through a combination of enhanced operational efficiency and reduced cost of funds. The existing customers of subsidiary banks will benefit from access to State Bank of India’s global network.

In May 2016, the proposal for the merger was cleared by the State Bank of India. The Union Cabinet approved the merger in principle in June 2016. The proposal then went to the respective bank boards before returning to the Union Cabinet for a final nod.

About State Bank of India

• The State Bank of India is a public sector banking and financial services company. It is a government-owned corporation.

• Its headquarters are located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• As of 2016-17, it had assets of Rs 30.72 trillion.

• It has more than 14000 branches, including 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries. It makes it the largest banking and financial services company in India by assets.

• As of 2016, the company is ranked 232nd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations.

• SBI’s roots lie in the first decade of the 19th century, when the Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806.

• The Bank of Bengal was one of three Presidency banks. The other two were the Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July 1843).

• On 27 January 1921, the Presidency banks amalgamated and were rechristened as Imperial Bank of India.

• The imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India on 1 July 1955.