The Union Cabinet on Monday has approved the merger of Bhartiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with State Bank of India. The Finance Ministry said,

“The decision to merge BMB with SBI has been taken in view of the advantage of the large network of SBI among other things.” 

The approval comes after last month’s Cabinet approval for the merger of SBI’s five associate banks with the larger entity, which will be effective from April 1.

The SBI group already has 126 exclusive all-women branches across the country while the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has only seven - said by the Finance Minister.

According to the statement "The proportion of administrative and managerial cost in BMB is much higher to reach the same coverage. For the same cost, a much higher volume of loans to women could be given through SBI."

SBI said in a statement “Although the addition of 103 branches of BMB and business of approximately Rs 2,000 crore would not make significant impact on the branch network and business levels of SBI, it will be ensured that the merger strengthens and reinforces SBI’s focus on financing of women entrepreneurs in order to fulfil the objectives behind setting up of Bharatiya Mahila Bank.”

After the merger with its associate banks, SBI is set to be among the top 50 large banks of the world. SBI was ranked 52 in the world in terms of assets in 2015, and a merger will see it break into the top 50. 

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