India shortlists four mid-sized banks for privatisation

Two of those lenders will be selected for sale in FY2021/2022.

The Indian government has shortlisted four mid-sized state-run banks for privatisation under a new push to sell state assets and shore up government revenues, reports Reuters.

The four banks are Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and the Central Bank of India, two officials said. Two of those banks will be selected for sale in the 2021/2022 financial year beginning in April.

In the coming years, it will consider some of the country’s bigger banks for privatisation, the officials added.

The government will continue to hold a majority stake in India’s largest lender State Bank of India, which is seen as a "strategic bank" for implementing initiatives such as expanding rural credit.

Privatisation of the banking sector, which is dominated by state-run behemoths with hundreds of thousands of employees, is politically risky because it could put jobs at risk, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration aims to make a start with second-tier banks.

Here's more from Reuters.