Core banking solution vital in merger process

Hyderabad: The mega-merger of public-sector banks (PSBs) is expected to be completed by March 2020. At this juncture, the branch network restructuring, human resources, integration of banking software, aligning of several banking products have become a vital part in the merger process. The 10 banks, which are set for the merger, have set up committees at General Manager (GM) level to monitor the integration of banking software, products, etc. Software integration is considered to be a major challenging task in this process.

Andhra Bank is gearing up for the merger process. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Union Bank of India (UBI) have already held board meetings towards this merger process. The associate banks of SBI (State Bank of India ) merger was smooth because of the same software used by them. The same core banking software paved the way for an easy merger of associate banks with SBI.

Whereas, UBI, PNB and Andhra Bank have been using their own customised banking software. Hence, developing core banking solution is important and assumes significant importance in the merger process, said a senior banking analyst.

The merger process will focus on banking products, process integration, human resources, IT, branch restructuring, easing out the impact on customers and business.

The PSBs are using core banking solutions developed by Infosys, Oracle, TCS, etc. In addition to this, banks use outsourcing services from financial technology (fintech) solutions for cheque clearance and processing of loan applications.

Considering all these technicalities, the merger process of 10 PSBs is a challenging task, unlike SBI merger.