Viral gazette claiming public sector bank mergers is fake, says finance ministry
A gazette copy claiming a 2026 scheme to merge nine public sector banks into SBI, PNB and Bank of Baroda has been declared fake by authorities.
A copy of a gazette notification is circulating widely on social media, claiming that the Government of India has announced the Public Sector Banks Amalgamation Scheme, 2026. On verification, the copy has turned out to be completely fake.
Maharashtra DGIPR clarified through its official Twitter handle on September 18, 2026, that the gazette copy claiming the government had announced the "Public Sector Bank Amalgamation Scheme, 2026" is false. It also stated that the finance ministry had notified the "Amalgamation of Public Sector Banks Scheme, 2026" on September 15, 2026, under which the viral post claimed something was going to happen to nine public sector banks.
The viral post claimed that other banks would be merged into three large banks: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. It said Indian Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Central Bank of India would merge into SBI, with SBI being renamed SBI Group. It further claimed Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Punjab and Sind Bank would merge into Punjab National Bank, while Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank would merge into Bank of Baroda.
The finance ministry's department has clarified that no such notification has been issued. The government stated that no merger of any kind will take place involving these nine public sector banks, including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda.
PIB Fact Check and DGIPR have jointly clarified that the gazette copy about the merger is completely fake. It has been reiterated that the finance ministry has not notified any such scheme for the merger of public sector banks. People have been advised not to believe such viral posts and to verify information before forwarding it.
