At a time when the the Indian Economy is plunging towards a slowdown, on Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the merger of Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank.

Elaborating on merger of the three public sector banks, Sitharaman said that the target bank will be the second largest public sector bank with a business of Rs. 17.95 lakh crore, which will be 1.5 times the size of Punjab National Bank.

Simultaneously, the Minister also announced plans of consolidation of three other PSU bank: Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank; Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank, and Indian bank with Allahabad Bank.

The Finance Minister also informed that loan recoveries have hit a recover level of Rs. 1,21,076 crore, adding that gross non-performing assets (NPAs) – or bad loans have come down from Rs. 8.65 lakh crore to Rs. 7.90 lakh crore.