ING Vysya Bk becomes Kotak Mahindra Bank; RBI okays merger

Asked if the bank would look at branch rationalisation, Bhatt said that at the moment this is not looked, at but it would be done in the course of time if required in any of the location.

"The scheme of amalgamation (of Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank) shall come into effect from April 1, 2015," Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement quoting RBI approval. It got RBI approval for the merger yesterday.

Following the merger, all the tangible and intangible assets have been transferred to Kotak Mahindra Bank. ING Vysya had around 10,000 employees, while Kotak Bank has around 29,000. "We estimate that complete integration would take place in the next 9-12 months," Bhatt said.

The merger deal between Kotak Mahindra and ING Vysya got the Competition Commission approval in February.

In an order dated February 12, the CCI said that share of both entities in various relevant markets is "insignificant". In this case, the regulator took into account multiple relevant markets including those for deposits, home loans, agricultural banking and card business.

This is the first amalgamation of a profit earning entity post global financial meltdown in 2008. Although two more mergers took place during this period but those were amalgamations under different circumstances. In 2010, Bank of Rajasthan was merged with country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank.

Bank of Rajasthan was a loss making entity and its networth had turned negative. A subsidiary of SBI, State Bank of Indore was merged with the parent in the same year. This was in continuation of the proposed policy of amalgamation of its subsidiaries over a period of time.