How Many Public Sector Banks in India?

The merger of banks is not uncommon. We keep hearing the news of mergers of various public sector banks. It was not long back when the merging of a few banks was announced by India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the context of the country's banking sector reform and to promote economic growth. So, the question “how many public sector banks in India” keeps getting updated with every merger. With the merging of a few banks, the overall number of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in India has decreased from 27 banks in 2017 to 12 banks in 2022 as a result of this extensive amalgamation. 

How many public sector banks are there in India?

India currently has 12 public sector banks, and the RBI is the main organisation in charge of overseeing all banking activities in the country. 

A public sector bank is one in which the government owns a majority stake—more than 51%—in the business.

Total no of public sector banks in India

RBI oversees banking industry regulation. The merger will increase productivity, efficiency, and the economy's six-year low while lowering the amount of NPAs and bad loans. 10 public sector banks were combined into four banks in the previous year. Currently, there are 12 public sector banks in the nation.

Details of Public Sector Banks In India

1. Punjab National Bank: The first Swadeshi Bank was PNB, which started operations on April 12 from Lahore with working capital of Rs 20,000 and authorised capital of Rs 2 lac. The Bank was started in order to aid Indians. It has since amalgamated with the United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

2. Indian Bank: The Swadeshi movement and the establishment of the Indian Bank occurred on August 15, 1907. With the acquisition of Allahabad Bank, it now has 9786 touch points across all of India, including 2872 domestic branches, 3892 ATMs/BNAs, and 3022 BCs.

3. State Bank of India: SBI has been around for 200 years and is the biggest commercial bank in the nation. In regards to assets, savings, profits, branches, clients, and personnel, among other metrics, SBI is the biggest. More than half of SBI is owned by the Indian government.

4. Canara Bank: Founded by the late Shri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a philanthropist, as the "Canara Bank Hindu Permanent Fund" in 1906, this tiny seed grew into a limited corporation as "Canara Bank Ltd." in 1910 and became Canara Bank in 1969 after being nationalised. presently, following the Syndicate Bank merger.

5. Union Bank of India: Since its founding on November 11th, 1919, the bank has grown to include more than 4200 branches all over the nation. In the year 2021, it merged with Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank.

6. Indian Overseas Bank: On February 10th, 1937, Shri. M.Ct.M. Chidambaram Chettiar, a leader in various domains, created the bank. He established the Bank with the primary goal of concentrating on foreign exchange business in banking and expanding it globally.

7. UCO Bank: UCO Bank is a project of the Government of the Republic of India and was established in 1943.

8. Bank Of Maharashtra: Maharashtra has always been a dynamic region, and banking activity likewise got its start there rather early. Historically, the main depository financial institution in a region was the Bank of Mumbai, founded in 1840. The Poona Bank in Pune, which was founded in 1889, was the first depository financial institution discovered in a region outside of a city. The Deccan Bank followed in 1890, and then the Mumbai financial institution did so in 1898.

9. Punjab and Sind Bank: With the foresight of greats like Bhai Vir Singh, Sir Sunder Singh Majitha, and Sardar Tarlochan Singh, a modest proposal to help the nation's poorest of the poor resulted in the founding of Punjab & Sind Bank in the year 1908.

10. Bank of India: On September 7th, 1906, a group of prominent merchants from Bombay founded the Bank of India. The Bank was owned and operated by the public until July 1969, when it was nationalised alongside thirteen other banks.

11. Central Bank of India: The Financial Organization of India was the first Indian bank that was entirely owned and run by Indians when it was founded in 1911. The establishment of the Bank was the culmination of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala's vision, who was the Bank's founder. The key Chairman of a highly "Swadeshi Bank" was Sir Pherozesha Mehta.

12. Bank Of Baroda: The Bank of Baroda is a state-owned global finance and money services organisation with its headquarters in Gujarat, India's Vadodara (formerly known as Baroda). On the 20th day of the Gregorian calendar year 1908, Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the Prince of Baroda, supported the bank.

I hope now you know about how many public sector banks in India.