The merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda (BoB) is likely to take two years according to a statement by a senior official to PTI. The official said that the information technology platform integration alone will take about 12 months and other processes and systems may take another year or so.

The merger of the two banks with BoB became effective from 1 April. The PTI report said that the process of transition is designed to ensure that there is minimum disruption of services to the customers. The branding of the three entities in the interim period will also be retained and will be included in a phased manner to ensure minimum disruption to existing operations.

The government had earlier infused Rs 5,042 crore in the bank which took care of additional expenses needed and maintain minimum regulatory capital requirement.

The official said that the maximum impact of the merger will play out during the first quarter when the pressure on the balance sheet will be seen and the impact is subsequently expected to be moderate.

The three-way merger was among several reforms initiatives that were undertaken in 2018 by Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar to make public sector banks (PSBs) healthy, robust and globally competitive. Following the merger, the number of PSBs has come down to 18.