SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya gets 1-year extension

New Delhi: Government has given one-year extension to SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya amid the lender's consolidation with its associate banks.

According to top government sources, the incumbent SBI chairman has been given one-year extension. This will provide continuity at a time when the process of consolidation is going on.

Earlier this year, the Cabinet gave its nod for merger of State Bank of India (SBI), its associate lenders and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) that would make the state-owned lender a global-sized bank.

SBI has five associate lenders -- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore are listed.

The merged entity will become a banking behemoth, which could compete with the largest in the world, with an asset base of Rs 37 lakh crore (over USD 555 billion), 22,500 branches and 58,000 ATMs. It will have over 50 crore customers.

SBI had said all its associate banks and BMB will be merged into it, which will add an additional Rs 8 lakh crore to its assets. It has close to 16,500 branches, including 191 foreign offices across 36 countries.

SBI first merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself in 2008. Two years later, State Bank of Indore was merged with it.