Trends in Mergers in Banking Sector in India: an Analysis
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Vol.6, No.4, October-December 2017 Trends in Mergers in Banking Sector in India: An Analysis – Dr. (Mrs.) Prashanta Athma* – Mrs. A. Bhavani** Abstract Mergers across the businesses take place for several reasons such as consolidation of businesses, expansion by entering into new markets, increasing the product line, Synergies etc. Synergy refers to the greater combined value of merged firms than the sum of the values of individual units. The India Banking Sector has undergone a major transformation, with several Policy Initiatives and Positive Business Environment. Enhanced spending on infrastructure, speedy implementation of projects and continuation of reforms are expected to provide further impetus to growth. All these factors suggest that India's banking sector is set for a robust growth with the increasing business opportunities. The technological advancements have brought the mobile and internet banking services to the forefront which also includes a slew of improved services for giving the maximum satisfaction to the customers. In this context, the study of trends in mergers in Banking Sector in India assumes importance. The objectives of the Study are • To present an overview of Phase wise Mergers in the Banking Sector • To analyse the Sector wise & time wise performance of the Mergers • To analyse the trends in mergers in Banking Sector in India The study is based on secondary data. Simple percentages; 'F' and 'T' test are employed for analysing the data. Keywords: Banking Sector, Mergers, Nationalisation Period, Liberalisation Period, Public Sector & Private Sector Introduction Mergers across the businesses take place for several reasons such as consolidation of businesses, expansion by entering into new markets, increasing the product line, Synergies etc. Synergy refers to the greater combined value of merged firms than the sum of the values of individual units. * Professor in Commerce Principal University College for Women Koti, Hyderabad, Telangana State. Email : [email protected] ** Research Scholar PP. COM. 107, Commerce Rayalaseema University Kurnool Id: [email protected] 37 SUMEDHA Journal of Management The India Banking Sector has undergone a major transformation, with several Policy Initiatives and Positive Business Environment. Enhanced spending on infrastructure, speedy implementation of projects and continuation of reforms are expected to provide further impetus to growth. All these factors suggest that India's banking sector is set for a robust growth with the increasing business opportunities. The technological advancements have brought the mobile and internet banking services to the forefront which also includes a slew of improved services for giving the maximum satisfaction to the customers (www.iebf.org). Mergers in Banking Sector in India have initially taken place to strengthen the banking system by merging the weak/ loss making and inefficient banks with other profit making and strong banks. But in recent times some mergers have taken place between profit making banks for availing the benefits by way of synergies to mergers. Indian Banking system has witnessed several mergers that have taken place for various reasons over a period of time. In this context, the study of trends in mergers in Banking Sector in India assumes importance. Review of Literature 1. Kamatam Srinivas1, in his book, "Mergers and Acquisitions in Indian Banking Sector- A Study of Selected Banks" studied the impact of Mergers and Acquisition on Physical and Financial Performance of Merged Banks. 2. Pradeep Kumar2, in his thesis, "Bank Mergers and Cost Efficiency Gains in Indian Commercial Banks" studied the cost efficiency gains in select merged banks. 3. A. Kaleichelvan3, in the thesis "Efficacy of Merger and Acquisition in Indian Banking Industry" (A Study With Reference to Select Merged Banks in India) has looked at the M&A activity in the banking industry during the period 1993-94 - 2004-05. 4. K. Anthony4 (2011) studied about the gains from consolidation exercise in terms of profitability of banks, and arrived at the result that the consolidation of banks did improve the profitability of banks in India, due to an increase in employee turnover and the subsequent reduction in operating expenses. 5. Pawan Sharma & Dr. D. P. Warne5 (2012) in their paper made a brief attempt to analyze the impact of merger with reference to successful movements of merger in between two banks and studied the pre and post merger impact of share price fluctuations. 6. Sohini Ghosh, Sraboni Dutta6 (2015) in their paper on "Mergers and Acquisitions in Indian Banking Sector: Pre-Post Analysis of Performance Parameters" explored the overall strategic impact of M&A on the Banking Sector during the timeframe spanning from 2000 to 2010. In this paper, they have concentrated on 10 M&A deals in the Indian banking sector during a. The focus of their study was to measure the change in performance levels of the banks, if any, in the post merger phase as compared to the pre merger ones through selected HR and financial parameters 38 Vol.6, No.4, October-December 2017 7. A. N. Tamragundi& Devarajappa. S7 (2015) in their article " Trends and Progress of M & A in Indian Banking Sector" analyses the trends and progress of mergers and acquisitions in Indian Banking Sector and examines the impact of economic reforms in merger deals. Research Gap The above review of literature points to the fact that, studies have been made on Mergers relating mainly to the pre and post merger financial performance of select banks; analyse the impact of merger; Financial performance of the transferee bank after the merger on the basis of CAMEL models etc. However, an analysis of mergers phase - wise, type - wise and sector wise has not been done. Hence the study is undertaken to fill the research gap. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the Study are • To present an overview of Phase wise Mergers in the Banking Sector • To analyse the Sector wise and time wise performance of the Mergers • To analyse the trends in mergers in Banking Sector in India Methodology • Sources of Data: The study is based on Secondary Sources which includes the Annual Reports of the Select Banks; RBI Database; research publications etc. • Period of Study: The Period of the Study is from 1961 to 31st March 2017, as a maximum number of mergers have taken place in Indian Banking sector during 1961. • Sample Selection: Several Mergers have taken place in the Banking Sector in India between various Banks for various reasons. The study has taken up all those Banks who have participated in the Merger activity since the year 1961 to 31st March 2017. Hypothesis 1. Ho: There is no significant difference in the number of bank mergers between bank groups and between the liberalisation period H1: There is a significant difference in number of bank mergers between bank groups and between the liberalisation period 2. Ho: There is no significant difference in the number of Mergers across the sectors (public and private) H1: There is a significant difference in number of Mergers across the sectors (public and private) 39 SUMEDHA Journal of Management Tools for Analysis: The following tools are used for the analysis of the data. • F test: to test the Hypothesis as to whether there is any significant difference in number of bank mergers between bank groups and between pre and post economic reforms period • T test: to test the Hypothesis as to whether there is any significant difference in number of Mergers taken place in Public Sector and Private Sector Mergers in Banking Sector To study the trends in mergers, the period from 1961 to 2017 is divided into various phases on the basis of time frame in line with the policy initiatives of the Government. The overall mergers in the banking sector and the trends are presented in the following tables. Phase wise mergers in Banking Sector in India are presented in table 1. Table 1 Sl. No Phase Period No. of Mergers 1 I- Pre Nationalisation Period Mergers during 1961 to 1969 46 2 II- Post Nationalisation Period Mergers during 1969 to 1991 13 3 III- Post Liberalisation Period Mergers during 1991 to 2015 22 4 IV- Consolidation of Banks Mergers during 2015 till date 5 March 2017 Total 86 Source: Compiled by the Author Phase I - Pre Nationalisation Period (1961 - 1969) The above classification is made on the basis of the time frames during which various changes have taken place on account of Governmental Policy initiatives in the Banking Sector. The period before 1969 is considered as Pre Nationalisation period, during which several banks were operating in the Private Sector excepting for a few banks in the Public Sector. During this period a major chunk of mergers i.e. 46 mergers have taken place. The major initiatives in the Banking Sector was the establishment of Reserve Bank of India in the year 1935 followed by the enactment of Banking Regulation Act in the year 1949; Nationalisation of Imperial Bank of India and renaming it as State Bank of India in the year 1955 which acted as the principal agent of RBI to handle the banking transactions of both the Central and State Governments; followed by nationalising the subsidiaries of SBI in the year 1959. During the first phase of pre nationalisation, the growth was very slow and banks experienced periodic failures. People had less confidence in the banks because of which deposit mobilisation also was very slow. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in India as the Central Banking Authority. RBI formulated schemes for the reconstitution and compulsory merger of weak banks with the sound banks to strengthen the banking system. The list of banks merged since 1961 till the nationalisation period is presented in the following table 2. 40 Vol.6, No.4, October-December 2017 Table 2: Phase I: Pre Nationalisation Phase Mergers (1961 - 1969) Sl.No Transferor Bank Transferee Bank Date of Merger No 1.