The largest lender of the country, State Bank of India has said that its consolidation drive will continue to be in process. It further added that in this fiscal itself it will begin the process of absorbing yet another of its associate banks.

According to SBI chairman, Pratip Chaudhuri, the preference would be given towards consolidating those banks in which SBI holds 100% stake.

Presently there are five associate banks of SBI namely State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Mysore.

The finance ministry is in favor of SBI merging its associates with itself as it feels this would bring economies of scale, reduce administrative overheads and also aid in channelizing and training workforce.