SBI board okays merger of SBS

New Delhi, Aug 27: India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) today said its board has approved the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with itself.

The merger is subject to the approval of Government of India and Reserve Bank of India in accordance with State Bank of India Act, 1955, a statement said.

Following the merger, the bank will have combined assets of more than 5.85 trillion rupees with reserves of over 315 billion rupees and a combined net worth of over 334.22 billion rupees.

SBS has a strong presence in Gujarat. It has more than 450 branches. For the year ended March 31, 2007, its deposits were Rs 15,804 crore and advances over Rs 11,000 crore.

SBI's deposits were over Rs 4,00,000 crore and advances over Rs 3,00,000 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007.

Last year, the SBS posted a 45 per cent growth in net profit.

The bank has a gross non-performing asset ratio of 1.15 per cent and a capital adequacy of nearly 13 per cent.

UNI