Union Bank of India has said that no negotiations are in place for a possible merger of the bank with the loss-ridden United Bank of India (UBI).
The denial comes in the wake of reports of a merger which was refuted through individual filings by either bank on the stock exchanges. United Bank denied any merger talks whatsoever saying “There is no information with us of the bank getting merged with any other PSU/private bank, including Union Bank of India”.
On the stock markets UBI stock, which was losing in the past one week, saw a 6 per cent jump in its prices which touched Rs.25.85. Union Bank closed the day with a marginal gain at Rs.103.3. Union Bank reported a net profit of Rs.651.2 crore during the third quarter.
UBI also said that its board had okayed a proposal to issue perpetual non-cumulative preference shares which would shore up the bank’s capital base.
The bank also issued a press release refuting reports on fresh trouble being kicked up by a Rs.800-crore credit line. The bank clarified that bill discounting against letter of credit issued by reputed banks was an accepted practice in banking industry. The release said that the present outstanding in this particular instance had dropped to Rs.163 crore after receiving payments from LC-issuing banks.
