SBI says merger of units not under active consideration

MUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, said on Wednesday that a plan to merge associate banks with itself was not under active consideration and the state-owned bank could examine the option later.

SBI would merge five of its associate banks with itself in a move that will bolster its asset base, add more branches and raise market share, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday, citing the bank's Chairwoman, Arundhati Bhattacharya.

In a statement to the stock exchanges, SBI said no such proposal had been formally taken up for approval.

"While the bank has always had plans to consider merger of the associate banks, eventually ... the matter had not been under active consideration for quite some time," the statement said.

"Going forward, the bank may examine the merger options afresh, when considered appropriate, but preparation of a possible roadmap would take a few months."

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)