Behemoth in making: SBI board okays merger of associates, BMB

Mumbai, Aug 18 (PTI) Moving a step closer to creation ofa global-sized bank with assets worth over Rs 37 lakh crore,the SBI board today approved merger of its five associatebanks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself. It also finalised the share swap ratio for three of thelisted subsidiaries and BMB. "The central board of directors today approved the mergerof State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore(SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and BMB," the country’slargest lender said in a regulatory filing. As per the merger proposal, SBBJ shareholders will get28 shares of SBI (Rs 1 each) for every 10 shares (Rs 10 each).Similarly, SBM and SBT shareholders will get 22 shares each ofSBI for every 10 shares they hold. In the case of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, 4,42,31,510 sharesof SBI will be swapped for every 100 crore of BMB shareshaving a face value of Rs 10. The two unlisted subsidiaries are fully owned by SBI. The merger will create a banking behemoth of global scalewith a balancesheet of Rs 37 trillion or over USD 555 billion,making it one of the top 50 global financial powerhouses. Themerged entity will have 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMsserving a customer base of over 50 crore. SBI has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreignoffices across 36 countries while the five subsidiaries havenearly 6,000 branches. "The share swap ratio is favourable to minorityshareholders. We are confident that the ratio would be largelyacceptable to all shareholders," SBI Deputy Managing Directorin charge of associates and subsidiaries Neeraj Vyas told PTI. The board also approved merger of two unlisted associatebanks — State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad –with the parent, Vyas said. Abizer Diwanji, Partner and National Leader for financialservices at EY, which advised the share swap deal for SBI,said, "The ratio will be acceptable to all shareholders." According to brokerage Religare Securities, barring SBMshareholders, the share allotment ratio is broadly even forall the holders. MORE PTI HV BEN KRKARD