Mega Merger of major banks: what it means?

Merger of major banks

The Govt has announced the merger of various public sector banks(PSBs) and now there will only be 12 PSBs.The same can be viewed from different angles.Whereas it may be desirable to create large sized banks to reduce competition , cutting costs by closure of certain branches and promoting specialization.But the other question is when the management’s could not manage small banks then whether it would be possible to manage large sized banks.But probably it is desirable to have large sized banks to provide cushion for risks.I also presume that the mergers have been undertaken based upon principle of higher NPAs of one bank to be absorbed by other due to its better health.Also taking advantage of the synergy of regional understanding is one of the objectives of mergers.
But I fail to understand the non merger of poorly performing banks like Central Bank Of India,Indin Overseas Bank,UCO Bank,Bank of Maharashtea,Punjab and Sind Bank.Considerations are certainly other than the aforesaid objectives.
In at least three of the non merged banks considerations are certainly political.So the mergers may not achieve the optimum results.I sincerely hope that Govt would rectify this position soon.
The govt also needs to ensure that there are least HR issues in these mergers and there is a smooth transition of the mergers.Also Govt and RBI need to monitor the results of the merger particularly with regard to operational efficiencies sought to be achieved through the mergers.Disclosures of such efficiencies, particularly cost cutting through closure of branches of merged entities in the same area,be made mandatory.
On the professional side the mergers are bound to reduce the number of branches to be audited by at least 10 to 15 percent.Number of central auditors would be down by minimum 40 percent .It is certainly not a small number.But I do hope increase in the size of banks would lead to better management of banks and consequently more opportunities in areas other than statutory audit.
Let us hope for the best.