UCO Bank Refutes Reports Of Government Merger Plans With Three PSU Banks

UCO Bank denied reports of the Union government planning to merge the lender with three other public sector banks. The bank said all decisions relating to merger is under the purview of the government, which owns 95.39% stake.

"The bank has no role in the decision relating to merger and as of now, Bank is not in receipt of any information from Government of India about merger... the news item is factually incorrect," said an exchange filing on Monday.

The merger news does not hold good and is not expected to have any material impact on the bank, it said.

As per news reports, the NDA government is considering the merger of UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab & Sind Bank, and Central Bank of India. The government holds over 85% stake in all these PSU banks.

UCO Bank had previously said it aims to reduce the government's stake in the bank from the current 95.39% to 75% in several tranches by fiscal 2025, to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms set by securities law.

Shares of UCO Bank declined 0.16% to Rs 54.69 apiece, ahead of the clarification, as compared to a 0.56% advance in the BSE Sensex.