State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, expects to save costs and gain scale after merging its five subsidiary banks with itself, senior executives said on Monday, adding there will be no big surprises in terms of bad loans after the merger.
State Bank of India merged its five associate banks – State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, along with Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself effective April 1.
On Monday, the SBI opened as one bank with 500 million customers and started normal operations from Monday, said SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya.
"The SBI opened as 'one bank' today (Monday) and will continue to operate in the same manner as before post-merger," Bhattacharya told the media.
The treasuries of the SBI and associates have also been completely integrated and have now started work as a single entity, she added.
With this merger, State Bank of India said it will join the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets.
Post-merger, all the customers of associate Banks will enjoy access to a wide array of digital products and services offered by the SBI, the lender said.