PSU Bank Stocks Surge On Privatisation Roadmap Report

On the stock exchanges, shares of the Bank of Maharashtra increased by 15.3%, Indian Overseas Bank increased by 12%, and the Central Bank of India increased by 10% in morning trade. In intraday trade, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 4.7%, while the Nifty50 index gained 0.2%.

Senior officials from the Niti Aayog, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the finance ministry's financial services and economic affairs departments are set to meet on April 14 to discuss potential privatisation candidates, according to a Business Standard report.

On the National Stock Exchange, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, UCO Bank, and J&K Bank all gained between 7.5 and 12%. Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Union Bank of India, and State Bank of India (SBI) all saw their stock prices rise by more than 3%.

In the first phase, the government may decide to privatise at least two public sector banks (PSBs), the report said.

The Bank of India's stock is up 7.5% after its board approved a proposal to raise Rs3,000 crore from the government through a preferential issue.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the privatisation of two public sector banks and one general insurance company in 2021-22 in her Budget speech. The Aayog is mandated to recommend the names of PSUs in strategic sectors to be privatised, merged, or made subsidiaries of other PSUs under the new Public Sector Enterprise policy for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.