Functioning of merged entity of PNB, OBC, UBI to be big

The functioning of the amalgamated entity of three PSBs -- Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India that comes into being on April 1-- will be a "big challenge" in the wake of the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown, an official said on Friday.

The merger of UBI and OBC into PNB will lead to the creation of the country's second largest lender after State Bank of India, the official said.

"Under the given conditions, the effective functioning of the merged entity will be a big challenge. The government has not given any direction so far in this regard," the UBI official told PTI.

The legal process of the merger has been completed, he said.

OBC and UBI are the transferor banks while PNB is the transferee in this amalgamation process.

The boards of UBI and OBC will cease to exist from April 1, 2020, the official said..

"The effective functioning of the merged entity will be seriously impacted due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which has put all plans into a tailspin," the official said.

According to the swap ratio, 1,150 equity shares of PNB are to be exchanged for every 1,000 shares of Oriental Bank of Commerce. As many as 121 equity shares of PNB are to be swapped for every 1,000 shares of the Kolkata-headquartered bank.