India on Friday said three banks from Pakistan had shown interest in starting operations in India and a decision in this regard would be taken on reciprocal and simultaneous basis, reports PTI.
Habib Bank Ltd, National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank Ltd had evinced interest in opening their branch or office in India, Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
In a meeting held on September 26 between RBI Governor and State Bank of Pakistan Governor, it was agreed that licenses to the banks for opening the branches would be given on reciprocal and simultaneous basis, he said.
To another question, Bansal said the government had not received any proposal on merger of Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Indian Bank, which recently entered into a strategic tie-up. These banks have entered into a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) on September 15 to form a strategic alliance in order to reap the benefits of economies of scale.
In another reply, he said only one bank - Sangli Bank Ltd - has capital adequacy ratio of less than nine percent, prescribed by the Reserve Bank as per Basel I and II norms. RBI has taken various corrective measures to strengthen the financial position of Sangli Bank, he said. It has advised the bank to increase its net worth, put in place a business plan and management strategy, and improve recovery of NPAs.