Dena Bank, BOB, Vijaya Bank chiefs to meet by Oct 12
MUMBAI: The heads of the three state-run banks awaiting merger—dena Bank, Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Vijaya Bank—will meet by October 12 to plan out its implementation, Dena Bank’s newly-appointed managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Karnam Sekar said.
“Some basic discussions have happened between all three of us (CEOS) last week; we will meet by October 12, but the date has not yet been finalized. We have been speaking to each other but have not yet met on the merger,” said Sekar.
He added that the three bank chiefs will meet to form a coordination committee and chalk out a plan for the merger. “We need to work on what would be the broad contours of the exercise along with the timelines. We also need to find out what are the areas where all three banks need more harmonization,” said Sekar.
Following primary discussions, he said, the plan is to have one coordination panel for the entire amalgamation, but, if, during the meeting, they feel the need to have sub-committees for verticals like human resources and IT infrastructure, those will be formed. “The panel would primarily comprise the three MD and CEOS but the executive directors can be included at a later stage,” he said.
According to Sekar, while all three banks use Infosys’s Finacle core banking solution, they have different versions of the software. While Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank are on Finacle 7.2, Bank of Baroda has recently updated to Finacle 10.2. “Similarly, all systems and proce-
We need to work on what would be the broad contours of the exercise along with the timelines KARNAM SEKAR, Dena Bank MD
dures, and product portfolios will have to harmonize as well. Other matters like branch rationalization will also be discussed,” he said.
On September 10, the government proposed the merger of the three state-owned banks. The merged entity, comprising two relatively stronger banks and a weak one, will be the third-largest lender in India, after State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank Ltd, with total business of ₹14.82 lakh crore.
Sekar, who was part of the SBI management in his previous role, has seen the merger of the bank with its subsidiaries in 2017 and hopes to bring those lessons to the table for this proposed merger. He was a deputy MD at SBI before being appointed to his current post on September 19.
On branch rationalization, Sekar said while there will be overlaps in branches in some areas, it will not be in as many instances as SBI with its erstwhile subsidiaries.