Case Study

10. India’s Largest Public Sector Bank Merger - Ms. Mishu Tripathi

Global Scenario of Mergers and Acquisitions

Globally mergers and acquisitions (M & A) have become a major way of corporate restructuring and the financial services industry has also experienced merger waves leading to the emergence of very large banks and financial institutions. The key driving force for merger activity is severe competition among firms of the same industry which puts focus on economies of scale, cost efficiency, and profitability. The other factor behind bank mergers is the “too big to fail” principle followed by the authorities.

Banking Sector in India

The largest bank, and the oldest still in existence, is the State Bank of India, which originated in the Bank of Calcutta in June 1806, which almost immediately became the Bank of Bengal. This was one of the three presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras, all three of which were established under charters from the British East India Company. The three banks merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence, became the State Bank of India in 1955. For many years the presidency banks acted as quasi-central banks, as did their successors, until the Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935.

Indian banking industry is governed by the Banking Regulation Act of India, (1949) and is closely monitored by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). RBI manages the country's money supply and foreign exchange and also serves as a bank for the Government of India and for the country's commercial banks.

More Details: Thakur Institute of Management Studies & Research