State Bank of India said on Tuesday it is seeking to merge operations of five of its subsidiary banks with itself, marking the first move of consolidation in the nation's state-run banking sector.
SBI, India's top lender by assets, said in a statement it was also planning to acquire state-run Bharatiya Mahila Bank, a lender targeted at women, and would seek the Indian government's approval to begin talks with the subsidiary banks.
Three of SBI's five subsidiary banks—State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore—are publicly traded.
