Govt sets alternative mechanism for consolidation of PSBs

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will head the alternative mechanism panel set up for consolidation among state-run banks. Financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar said, in a tweet, ‘Govt walks the talk on banking reforms; constitutes Alternative Mechanism for PSBs consolidation; Finance Minister to head.’ In August, the cabinet had given its approval for an alternative mechanism, comprising a panel of ministers, for inprinciple approvals to merger proposals. The finance ministry had then sent a letter to all state-run banks informing them about the process. ‘The decision to create this ‘alternate mechanism’ would facilitate consolidation among nationalised banks to create strong and competitive banks,’ the government had then noted in its statement.