Seven years of talks

As talks over consolidation of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks gather pace, a former banker narrated his experience back in 2010. A few days after taking charge of a PSU bank, he got a call from the Department of Financial Services, seeking his views on the merger of certain banks with the one he was heading. The department wanted to know the pros and cons of such a move and he had to give his feedback in 30 minutes flat. On his way to the Department of Financial Services office at Patel Chowk in New Delhi, officials from his bank gave him all the details on an Excel sheet, which he passed on to the department officials. Seven years on, talks are still on, he pointed out.