A viral post on social media falsely claims that the central government has instructed the merger of nine public sector banks into three larger entities. The Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit has confirmed the post as fake, stating that the document circulating on social media, designed to look like an official Gazette of India from the Ministry of Finance, is entirely fabricated.
The misleading post suggests that the government has sanctioned a significant merger of public sector banks, indicating that Indian Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and Central Bank of India will merge with the State Bank of India (SBI) to create the new “SBI Group.” Additionally, it alleges that Union Bank of India, Bank of India, and Punjab & Sind Bank will merge with Punjab National Bank, while Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and UCO Bank will be integrated into Bank of Baroda.
The PIB Fact Check Unit has discredited the fake Gazette, emphasizing that the document is not genuine. This misinformation has caused confusion among the public regarding the initiation of another round of bank mergers by the government. This incident follows a similar false claim in June, where a graphic circulated suggesting a merger between SBI, PNB, and Canara Bank, which was also debunked by the PIB Fact Check Unit.
The actual merger of public sector banks occurred in 2019, making these recent claims seem plausible. Despite India’s history of legitimate PSU bank mergers, unsubstantiated rumors persist. In 2019, the government combined 10 public sector banks into four entities, reducing the total number of PSU banks from 27 to 12. This prior merger lends credibility to the current fake documents, especially for bank customers and employees familiar with such transitions.
A document circulating on social media, purportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance, claims that the Central Government has notified a scheme for the amalgamation of Public Sector Banks.#PIBFactCheck:
❌ The document is #Fake and has NOT been issued by @FinMinIndia.
“>September 16, 2026
Before a genuine PSU bank merger takes place, a formal process is followed, involving the Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and parliamentary or regulatory approval. It is crucial to verify such claims with official sources like the RBI website and communications from the Ministry of Finance before sharing them, as there is currently no proposal for a merger of public sector banks.