New Delhi: The government on Friday announced the merger of Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India to create the second-largest banking network in the country with 11,431 branches.

"Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank will be brought together and they shall form the second largest public sector bank with the business of Rs 17.95 Lakh crore," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference here.

She said the creation of next-generation banks was imperative for India to become a US dollar 5 trillion economy in the next five years. She said that the NPAs of banks have come down due to the measures taken by the government to strengthen the financial sector.

"The NPAs have come down from Rs 8.65 lakh crore in December 2018 to Rs 7.90 lakh crore now," she said.