Note ban delayed merger of SBI associate banks
Govt would shortly issue notification for a final merger order, seen as a step toward banking reforms.
Mumbai: State Bank of India on Wednesday said demonetisation has delayed its plan to merge its associate banks, ET Now reported. Last year in March, SBI had announced merger of its five associate banks and newly-formed Bharatiya Mahila Bank into itself.
The news channel said SBI has expressed its inability to meet March 2017 deadline for merger due to scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes effected on November 8 last year.
It was expected that the government would now accelerate the merger process of SBI banks into one big public sector entity. SBI said it had expected associate banks' merger would be completed by March but that was not possible now owing to cash ban.
With this, the government would soon notify final order for the merger, which has been seen as a step toward biggest banking reforms since nationalisation of banks in early 70s.