Merger of 10 state-run banks into 4 comes into effect from today

New Delhi: Meeting the schedule for the amalgamation, the merger scheme for all the 10 public sector lenders into four bigger and stronger banks will come into force on April 1. The country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, on Saturday said all branches of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will function as branches of Punjab National Bank, the anchor bank, from April 1. Similarly, all branches of Allahabad Bank will function as branches of Indian Bank from that day, while all branches of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will function as branches of Union Bank of India from April 1. And, all branches of Syndicate Bank will function as branches of Canara Bank from the next month.

Earlier, there had been some concerns that whether the lenders could be able to meet the April 1 deadline due to the countrywide lockdown imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus. “The Amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into Punjab National Bank Scheme, 2020 dated March 4, 2020, issued by the Government of India was published under Extraordinary Part II-Section 3-Sub-section (i) in the Gazette of India sanctioning the Amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into Punjab National Bank in terms of section 9 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970

(5 of 1970) and section 9 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (40 of 1980). The scheme comes into force on the 1st day of April 2020,” the RBI said in a release.