4 PSU banks to become private by end of this year : GOI Target

The government has drawn a list of four PSU banks, namely, Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank, and IDBI Bank, in which it directly or indirectly holds majority stakes, and wants to disinvest equity.

The government may privatise four PSU banks as early as by the end of this fiscal year, Reuters reported citing unidentified officials. The government has drawn a list of four PSU banks, namely, Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, UCO Bank, and IDBI Bank, in which it directly or indirectly holds majority stakes, and wants to disinvest equity. Senior officials told Reuters that the move is made in an effort to generate government revenue, which is severely hit amid the coronavirus crisis.

Recently, the PMO had also written a letter to the Ministry of Finance to accelerate the process of privatisation. In order to raise funds and improve the financial health of the state-owned banks, the government aimed to keep stakes in only five PSU banks, and privatise the rest of them, Reuters had reported.