Four hundred and ninety three branches of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank in Telangana are to be merged with Telangana Grameena Bank with effect from January 1, 2025.
As a step to ensure smooth merger of the branches and systems, banking services across branches, online platforms such as ATM, UPI, mobile and internet banking as well customer service points will not be available from December 28-31, Telangana Grameena Bank said in a public announcement.
All its operations will resume from January 1 across Telangana, it said. For emergency requirements, customers will be allowed to withdraw up to ₹5,000 by visiting respective home branch on December 30-31.
Non-home (branch) transactions will not be allowed during the period. “We request our customers to bear with us and plan their financial transactions in view of likely disruption in banking services during the period, TGB said.
Customers of the APGVB branches in Telangana should visit their respective branches on or after January 1 for replacement of ATM cards and for re-registration of mobile/internet banking/UPI, it said.
The upcoming merger of the branches marks an important development in the process initiated by the Central government to reorganise the area of operation and bifurcation of assets and liabilities of APGVB consequent to the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and formation of Telangana.
The merger will also be in line with a nationwide exercise of the Centre aimed at consolidation of regional rural banks – both APGVB and TGB are RRBs — towards the goal of One State-One RRB and thereby derive the benefits of scale efficiency and cost rationalisation.
The RRBs were established in 1975 to develop rural economy. The first phase of structural consolidation of RRBs was initiated in 2004-05 and resulted in reduction in the number of such banks from 196 to 43 till 2020-21 through three phases of amalgamation.
A roadmap has been prepared in consultation with NABARD for further consolidation, which will bring down the number of RRBs to 28, Union Finance Ministry on Wednesday said in a communication addressed to heads of sponsor banks of RRBs. It has also issued a State-wise list of RRBs proposed for amalgamation and sought comments of the sponsor banks.
Post merger of its branches in Telangana with TGB, APGVB will be left with 278 branches in Andhra Pradesh that it will operate under its name. A working group constituted by the Centre has recommended that APGVB provide option to its staff to chose between remaining with it or shift to TGB.
Published – December 27, 2024 09:50 pm IST