No job losses due to merger of banks: Finance Minister

New Delhi, January 4 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said in the Lok Sabha that there would be no loss of jobs due to merger of public sector banks.

Earlier this week, the Cabinet approved merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.

Jaitley said there would be no job losses due to merger of the banks and that the move would create a bigger entity like SBI. The cost of lending could also become cheaper, he added.

During the question hour, the minister said out of the 21 public sector banks, 11 are under PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) framework.

PCA is initiated against banks that have high levels of non-performing assets (NPAs).

Replying to a supplementary question, Jaitley said the curve of non-performing assets would go down and that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has helped in bringing back around Rs 3 lakh crore into the system.

Jaitley said the State Bank of India (SBI) and other public sector banks have been making operational profits. They incurred losses due to provisioning for non-performing assets, he added. — PTI

Hints at lower cost of lending 

• Earlier this week, the Cabinet approved merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda
• Finance Minister said the merger of banks would create a bigger entity like the State Bank of India 
• He said the cost of lending could also become cheaper with the merger of banks
• Jaitley also said the curve of non-performing assets would go down and that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has helped in bringing back around Rs 3 lakh crore into the system

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