SBOP merger with SBI in two years : MD

Patiala, Oct 25 (UNI) The merger of State Bank of Patiala (SBoP) with State Bank of India will formalise within next two years, A C Varma, Managing Director of State Bank of Patiala said here today.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr Varma said that as of now he had no official information from SBI about exact time of the merger, he was convinced that ''it will take at least two years.'' He added it was not a question of merging SBoP only, and SBI will merge all seven subsidiaries.

He said that investing in big companies would be easy after the merger process was over. It will help SBI to give advances to big companies.

Varma said that merging of associate banks with SBI would enable it to face the ''biggies' like the Standard Chartered or HSBC.

He, however, said that measures like ensuring parity of salary, allowances, etc of the staff of the merging associate banks with those of the staff of SBI, providing equal growth opportunity post-merger and solving the pension issue, will smoothen the way for merger.

''Fast and smooth merger of associate banks with SBI will prompt the other PSU banks to merge and this will trigger the process of merger in the Indian banking industry,'' said Varma.

UNI