Big Bank Merger Coming? Government Signals Plan to Combine Two Major Banks

The government is allegedly seeking to combine two big banks as part of ongoing financial sector reforms, according to recent rumors that are gathering traction. Although mergers have long been a part of India's banking system, fresh debate has sparked concerns about which banks might be involved, why consolidation is being explored once more, and the potential effects on consumers, workers, and the overall economy.

Is the Government Planning a New Bank Merger?

At present, there is no official confirmation naming specific banks for an immediate merger. However, policymakers and financial regulators have repeatedly indicated that bank consolidation remains part of the long-term reform strategy to strengthen balance sheets, improve efficiency, and reduce systemic risk under the oversight of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India.

Merger Objective	Why It Matters
Stronger Capital Base	Improves financial stability
Lower NPAs	Better risk management
Operational Efficiency	Reduced duplication of branches
Global Competitiveness	Larger banks compete internationally
Simplified Oversight	Easier regulation and supervision

Why Bank Mergers Are Being Discussed Again

Previous public-sector bank mergers were aimed at creating fewer but stronger banks. Rising credit demand, digital transformation costs, and the need for robust capital buffers are once again pushing consolidation discussions to the forefront.

Which Banks Could Be Involved

No banks have been officially identified. Historically, mergers have involved public sector banks, not private lenders. Any future merger would likely focus on strategic fit, regional overlap, and financial health, rather than size alone.

What a Merger Would Mean for Customers

For customers, mergers typically bring account number changes, IFSC updates, and system migrations, but deposits and loans remain protected. The government has consistently stated that customer money is safe during such transitions.

Impact on Employees

Bank mergers often raise concerns about job security. In past consolidations, the government emphasized redeployment rather than layoffs, with staff reassigned across branches and departments.

Is This a Done Deal or Still a Proposal?

As of now, this is policy-level discussion, not an approved merger. Any concrete plan would require Cabinet approval, regulatory clearance, and formal announcements, all of which would be made public well in advance.

Key Facts to Know Right Now

• No official bank names confirmed
• Merger discussions are policy-level
• Public sector banks are the likely focus
• Customer deposits remain protected
• Formal approval is still required

While talk of a big bank merger has intensified, it remains under discussion rather than confirmed policy. If implemented, the move would aim to strengthen the banking system rather than disrupt it. Until official announcements are made, customers and employees should treat merger reports as preparatory signals, not final decisions.

Read More

Why 5-Day Banking Is Essential for the Indian Banking Sector?

For the Indian banking industry to increase productivity, staff happiness, and service quality, a five-day banking week must be implemented. Digital banking, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity concerns, and increased customer service responsibilities have all contributed to the complexity of banking operations. Bank workers can get enough rest and recuperation from a regular five-day workweek, which boosts output, improves decision-making, and lowers operational errors. 

Additionally, five-day banking promotes a better work-life balance, which is essential for addressing the stress, exhaustion, and mental health issues that bank employees confront. Employees that are motivated and get enough sleep are more customer-focused, which guarantees better service delivery and grievance resolution. 

The banking sector may become more competitive with other financial and corporate sectors that already follow a five-day work culture as a result of this shift, which can lower attrition and draw in new talent.

 

From an operational standpoint, banks now mostly rely on digital platforms that offer round-the-clock services, like internet banking, mobile banking, ATMs, and UPI. Therefore, cutting back on physical working days won't have a big effect on consumer convenience. 

Rather, it enables banks to concentrate on more effective planning, training, system improvements, and compliance initiatives. 

All things considered, five-day banking helps Indian banks comply with international standards, boosts staff morale, increases institutional effectiveness, and promotes the banking industry's sustainable growth without sacrificing client care.

Read More

UCO Bank Q3 net profit rises 15.8%

UCO Bank announced the financial results for the quarter ended on December 31, 2025 on Saturday, January 17. The lender reported a 15.76% year-on-year increase in net profit for the December quarter to ₹739.51 crore, compared to ₹638.83 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

The lender’s total income for the December quarter rose to ₹7,521.16 crore, up from ₹7,405.89 crore in the year-ago period, while interest earned rose to ₹6,651.84 crore as against ₹6,219.96 crore, according to the exchange filing.

UCO Bank, headquartered in Kolkata, reported an operating profit increase of 5.96% to ₹1,680.24 crore in October-December, up from ₹1,585.69 crore in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, provisions and contingencies dropped to ₹525.12 crore in the quarter ending December, down from ₹589.51 crore, it stated.

UCO Bank showed progress in asset quality, with gross non-performing assets (NPA) decreasing to 2.41% as of December 31, down from 2.91% last year. The gross NPAs amounted to ₹5,867.25 crore, compared to ₹6,081.55 crore during the same period last year.

Net NPAs also improved, dropping to 0.36% at ₹852.55 crore from 0.63% at ₹1,283.13 crore.

The lender's capital adequacy ratio was 17.43 per cent as of December 31, improving from 16.25 per cent reported in the corresponding period of the previous year.

As of December 31, 2025, UCO Bank had a total of 3,327 domestic branches, along with 2 overseas branches in Hong Kong and Singapore, and one Representative Office in Iran. Approximately 61.25% of domestic branches are located in rural and semi-urban areas.

UCO Bank's operating profit rose by 11.92% to ₹4,856 crore as on December 31 2025, on a Y-o-Y basis, as against ₹4,339 Crore for the same period the previous year. The lender's net profit rose by 9.70% to ₹1967 crore for the period under review, on a Y-o-Y basis, against ₹1793 crore for the nine months ended December 31, 2024.

Net interest income (NII) grew by 9.38% on a year-over-year (Y-o-Y) basis to ₹7,582 crore for the nine months ended on December 31, 2024, as against ₹6,932 crore for the corresponding period previous year.

Read More

IDBI Bank Q3 Net profit at ₹1,935 crore

 

On Saturday, January 17, IDBI Bank Ltd. released its third-quarter earnings. From ₹1,908.3 crore the year before, its net profit rose 1.4% to ₹1,935.5 crore. In the third quarter of last year, the lender's net interest income (NII) was ₹4,228.2 crore, a 24% decrease from ₹4,209.5 crore. 

Net non-performing assets (NPA) of IDBI Bank decreased to ₹425.3 crore from ₹474.2 crore in the preceding quarter.Its net non-performing assets (NPA) margin decreased from 0.21% in the preceding quarter to 0.18%. 

Its gross non-performing assets (NPA) rose to ₹6,281 crore from ₹6,242 crore during the second quarter. The gross non-performing asset (NPA) of the lender decreased sequentially from 2.65% to 2.57%.

Read More

ICICI Bank Q3 net profit falls 4 percent on-year

Despite stable core operating performance and better asset quality, ICICI Bank reported on Saturday a 4% year-over-year fall in standalone net profit for the fiscal third quarter due to a significant increase in provisions. 

For the quarter ending December 31, 2025 (Q3 FY26), the nation's second-largest private sector lender reported a standalone net profit of Rs 11,317.9 crore, up from Rs 11,792.4 crore in the same quarter the previous year. 

Net interest margin was 4.30 percent in Q3 FY26, up from 4.25 percent in the same period last year and 4.30 percent in Q2 FY26, while net interest income (NII) grew 7.7 percent year over year to Rs 21,932 crore from Rs 20,371 crore in Q3 FY25.

Operating expenses rose 13.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 11,944 crore from Rs 10,552 crore. The bank said this included Rs 145 crore of provisions on an estimated basis pursuant to the new Labour Codes. Treasury movements also weighed on the quarter, with the bank reporting a treasury loss of Rs 157 crore, compared with a gain of Rs 371 crore in Q3 FY25.

Core operating profit grew 6.0 percent year-on-year to Rs 17,513 crore in Q3 FY26, reflecting steady growth in net interest income and fee income.

Asset quality improved slightly, with the gross NPA ratio at 1.53 percent as of December 31, 2025, compared with 1.58 percent at September 30, 2025 and 1.96 percent a year earlier. The Gross NPAs fell to Rs 23,758 crore from Rs 27,745 crore a year ago.

The net NPA ratio stood at 0.37 percent at December 31, 2025, versus 0.39 percent at September 30, 2025 and 0.42 percent at December 31, 2024.

Provisions (excluding provision for tax) rose to Rs 2,556 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 1,227 crore in Q3 FY25. The bank said this included an additional standard asset provision of Rs 1,283 crore, made pursuant to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual supervisory review, in respect of a portfolio of agricultural priority sector credit facilities where the terms were found not to be fully compliant with regulatory requirements for classification as agricultural priority sector lending.

The domestic loan portfolio grew 11.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 14.31 lakh crore at December 31, 2025. Including profits for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, the bank said total capital adequacy ratio was 17.34 percent and CET-1 ratio was 16.46 percent on a standalone basis at December 31, 2025.

Read More

HDFC Bank Q3 net profit rises 11.5% YoY

Despite some pressure on margins, HDFC Bank announced an 11.5 percent year-over-year increase in standalone net profit for the fiscal third quarter on Saturday. This increase was bolstered by consistent growth in core earnings, good deposit accretion, and stable asset quality. 

For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, the nation's biggest private sector lender reported a profit after tax of Rs 18,654 crore, up from Rs 16,736 crore during the same period the previous year. The core income parameter of HDFC Bank, net interest income (NII), rose 6.4% to Rs 32,620 crore in Q3 FY26 from Rs 30,650 crore in the same quarter last year. During the quarter, the core net interest margin was 3.51 percent on interest-earning assets and 3.35 percent on total assets.

Throughout the period, asset quality did not change. As of December 31, 2025, gross non-performing assets (GNPA) was Rs 35,179 crore, up from Rs 36,019 crore the previous year. 

From 1.42 percent during the same time last year, the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio decreased to 1.24 percent. The net NPA ratio decreased to 0.42 percent from 0.46 percent, while net NPAs fell to Rs 11,982 crore from Rs 11,588 crore in the previous year.

The quarter's operating costs came to Rs 18,770 crore. Operating costs were Rs 17,970 crore, up from Rs 17,110 crore during the same period last year, excluding a projected Rs 800 crore impact from employee benefits under the New Labour Code. During the quarter, the bank's core cost-to-income ratio was 39.2%. 

For the quarter, provisions and contingencies were Rs 2,840 crore, a decrease of more than 10% from the same period last year. The release of Rs 1,040 crore in contingent provisions, which were mostly connected to a sizable borrower group fulfilling certain requirements, assisted with this. The December quarter's overall credit cost ratio, excluding this release, was 0.55 percent.

On the balance sheet, HDFC Bank’s total size expanded to Rs 40.89 lakh crore as of December 31, 2025, compared with Rs 37.59 lakh crore a year earlier. End-of-period deposits stood at Rs 28.6 lakh crore, up 11.6 percent from a year earlier. CASA deposits increased 10.1 percent to Rs 9.61 lakh crore, comprising 33.6 percent of total deposits. Time deposits grew 12.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 18.99 lakh crore.

Gross advances as of December 31, 2025 were Rs 28.45 lakh crore, reflecting an 11.9 percent year-on-year increase. Advances under management grew 9.8 percent over the previous year, with retail loans rising 6.9 percent, small and mid-market enterprise loans growing 17.2 percent, and corporate and other wholesale loans increasing 10.3 percent. Overseas advances accounted for 1.7 percent of total advances.

The bank’s capital position remained strong, with the total capital adequacy ratio at 19.9 percent under Basel III norms, well above the regulatory requirement of 11.9 percent. Tier-1 capital adequacy stood at 17.8 percent, while the common equity Tier-1 ratio was 17.4 percent.

Read More

Central Bank of India Q3 net rises 32% to ₹1,263 crore

Central Bank of India for the third quarter ended 31 December 2025 reported 32% growth in net profit at Rs.1,263 crore as compared with Rs.959 crore in the year ago period. Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter declined 1.07% to Rs.3,502 crore.

Total business grew by 15.77% to Rs.7,74,106 crore from Rs.6,68,686 crore. Net Interest Margin stood at 2.96%.

The bank’s Gross NPA stood at 2.70%, from 3.86%, registering an improvement of 116 bps. Net NPA stood at 0.45%, from 0.59%, registering an improvement of 14 bps. Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) improved to 96.69%, from 96.54%, an improvement of 15 bps, the bank said in a filing.

Total business of the bank, stood at Rs.7,74,106 crore as on December 31, 2025, as against Rs.6,68,686 crore a year ago, up 15.77% YoY. 

Total deposit grew 13.24% YoY to Rs.4,50,575 crore as on December 31, 2025. Gross advances increased 19.48% on YoY to  Rs.3,23,531 crore as on December 31, 2025. 

“RAM (Retail, Agriculture & MSME) business grew by 17.89 %. The individual sector wise growth stood at 20.93 % (Rs.96,652 crore), 15.41% (Rs.59,176 core) & 15.90% (Rs.67,338 crore), respectively,” it said. 

Read More

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Announcement for 572 Positions

The official announcement for Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 under Panel Year 2025 has been made public by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). There are 572 open positions for various RBI offices around the nation.

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Important Dates

Important Events	Dates
Commencement of online registration of application	15/01/2026
Closure of registration of application	04/02/2026
Closure for editing application details	04/02/2026
Last date for printing your application	19/02/2026
Online Fee Payment	15/01/2026 to 04/02/2026

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Educational Qualification

Post Name	Qualification
Office Attendant	10th Class Pass with knowledge of the local language

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Pay Scale

• Selected candidates will receive an initial basic pay of ₹24,250 per month under the pay scale of ₹24,250 – 840 (4) – 27,610 – 980 (3) – 30,550 – 1,200 (3) – 34,150 – 1,620 (2) – 37,390 – 1,990 (4) – 45,350 – 2,700 (2) – 50,750 – 2,800 (1) – 53,550, along with other applicable allowances from time to time.
• At present, the initial gross monthly salary (excluding HRA) for Office Attendants is around ₹46,029.
• In addition, House Rent Allowance at the rate of 15% of basic pay will be provided if the employee is not residing in bank-provided accommodation.

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Notification PDF

RBI Office Attendant Recruitment 2026 Notification PDF

Apply Online

Read More

Three Bank Branch Managers Suspended in Uttar Pradesh

 

In Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, three branch managers have been placed on leave. The enormous loan scandal at the UP Cooperative Bank's Badgaon branch in the Gonda district has prompted departmental action. 

The bank's general manager, Kapil Pathak, has immediately suspended Pawan Kumar Pal, the branch manager at the time, Ajay Kumar, Sushil Kumar Gautam, and Pawan Kumar, the assistant cashier. In this situation, two FIRs have already been filed. 

These four played a major part in the swindle, according to a preliminary departmental inquiry. They were suspended even before the police inquiry started to make sure it wouldn't interfere with the probe. The entire situation is being looked upon by the police station.

Additionally, 205 account holders' accounts are being carefully examined by the police agency. These individuals are accused of committing a major fraud totaling ₹21.47 crore. The Gonda branch started this scheme in December 2021 when loan disbursements were used as a revenue stream. 

Bank staff are accused of deceiving people. Guidelines state that before loans are disbursed, eligibility, income certification, collateral, and field verification are required. But these regulations were broken most of the time. The documents were simply on paper, and the borrowers did not own the originals. Under its zero-tolerance policy, the Uttar Pradesh government and department are acting to combat this fraud and corruption.

Read More

Latest Updates on Bank Strike,IBA UFBU Meeting Update 14 January

IBA and UFBU met today to discuss the launch of 5-Day Banking. On January 27, 2026, UFBU declared a strike and demanded that 5-Day Banking be implemented right now. Major bank officer and staff unions were called to a conference by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on January 14, 2026, to discuss their demands for the planned nationwide bank strike.

The IBA called UFBU to a conversation today in response to the strike notice that UFBU served on the IBA. As a result, this afternoon's talks were held in the IBA headquarters. Chief Executive Shri A K Goel, Deputy Chief Executive Shri Gopal Murali Bhagat, Mr. Brajeshwar Sharma, the departing Senior Advisor, HR&IR, and the newly appointed Shri Arvind Misra represented IBA. 

IBA notified UFBU that the government has previously been advised to declare the remaining two Saturdays as holidays, and the government's response is still pending while it is being considered. IBA added that a few other concerns, most notably the PLI issue, are still unresolved.

IBA therefore recommended that all of these problems be investigated further and asked the UFBU to postpone going on strike on January 27, 2026.In response to IBA's request, UFBU said that although it was decided to proclaim the second and fourth Saturdays as holidays in 2015, it was promised that the remaining two Saturdays would be taken into consideration later. However, since then, nothing has occurred. 

In February 2023, IBA agreed to proclaim the remaining Saturdays as holidays, subject to government approval, while UFBU agreed to extend working hours by 40 minutes every day, Monday through Friday. The government has already been requested to consider this plan, and it has been pending for the last two years.

UFBU emphasised that in the present scenario of banking, declaring the remaining two Saturdays as holidays is most essential. In view of the inordinate delay in implementing this understanding reached between IBA and UFBU, UFBU regretted its inability to accept IBA’s request to postpone the strike.

Read More