Jaitley introduces bill to repeal SBI Subsidiary Banks Act

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today introduced a bill to repeal SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act and State Bank of Hyderabad Act following the merger of five associates with the parent SBI.

"After the acquisition of the subsidiary banks by SBI, the subsidiary banks have ceased to exist and, therefore, it is necessary to repeal the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956," the statement of object and reasons of the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill 2017 said.

Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of State Bank of India (SBI) beginning April 1, catapulting the country's largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.

The five associates that were merged are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT).

Following the merger, the total customer base of SBI increased to 37 crore with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the country.

The merged entity began operation with a deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh crore and advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore.

There are certain provisions in the State Bank of India Act, 1955, which apply to the subsidiary banks, the bill said.

"After the acquisition of all the subsidiary banks by the SBI, it is not necessary to retain such provisions in the State Bank of India Act, 1955. Therefore, certain amendments are necessary in the said Act in so far as they relate to the subsidiary banks. The amendments are consequential in nature," it said.

It further said the SBBJ, SBM, SBP and SBT were constituted under the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 while the SBH was originally constituted as Hyderabad State Bank under the Hyderabad State Bank Act, 1350F and renamed as the State Bank of Hyderabad under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.

The State Bank of Hyderabad and the State Bank of Patiala were wholly-owned by the State Bank of India (SBI). SBI had 90 per cent shareholding in the State Bank of Mysore, 75.07 per cent shareholding in the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and 79.09 per cent shareholding in the State Bank of Travancore, it said.