Winds from Delhi, what exactly are they saying?

According to sources, the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, is likely to address the issue of consolidation between public sector banks in this year’s budget reports CNBC-TV18.

The buzz is that the FM has spoken in favour of consolidation for the past three years. He is, in fact, likely to announce a road map for the same in the budget. He is believed to have shortlisted six to eight banks including SBI, BOB, PNB, BOI and Canara Bank for the initiative.

There is also a buzz that big banks that take the initiative could be given tax SOPs post the merger and that employees may be given a second pension option and attractive VRS packages.