Two years into a merger with Syndicate Bank, there is little by way of synergy between the two banks and a lot of friction.
When Syndicate Bank was folded into the larger Canara Bank, they were two among 10 public sector banks whose operations the government merged in April 2020, in spite of resistance from employee unions.
On paper, it was supposed to help Canara Bank—the anchor bank in the merger—cement its slot as the fourth largest public sector bank in the country. Also, the government was hoping that merging a weaker Syndicate Bank with a stronger peer would help overcome the former’s lower capital adequacy and higher bad loan ratios. The fact that both shared Karnataka origins made it a match made in …
Furquan leads the banking coverage at The Morning Context. A business journalist with eight years of experience and a best-selling author, in his earlier stints as a reporter with the Deccan Herald and a columnist at The Banker, he wrote on banking, financial markets and regulatory affairs. He has extensively covered India's debt market crisis, banking crisis and the fall of Yes Bank.
Editor, Banking
furquan@mailtmc.com
Delhi