State Bank of India has confirmed that it is seeking the government’s approval in merging its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself. The bank issued a statement after a meeting of its board of directors saying the members of the board discussed the possibility of acquiring its associate banks, including assets and liabilities. It added that this discussion is purely exploratory at this stage and not certain and a proposal seeking an in-principle approval to start negotiations with associate banks will be submitted to the central government. The associate banks are State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore. The statement also said in addition to these five banks, the board discussed the possibility of acquiring India’s first bank targeted to women – Bharatiya Mahila Bank. Earlier, the boards of the associate banks approved resolutions to pave the way for their acquisition by SBI. Meanwhile, the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said the decision was not in consonance with what finance minister Arun Jaitley had suggested – that all the five banks can be merged into one single entity. An official of AIBEA said what SBI and the associate banks are trying to do is the opposite to what the finance minister had suggested. The employees of the five associate banks have now called for a strike on 20 May
