The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposed merger of State Bank of India (SBI) and five subsidiaries ā a combination that will create the first Indian lender to rank among the worldās top 50. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) will merge with the countryās largest bank, widening the gap between SBI and the No. 2 lender, HDFC Bank Ltd. The Cabinet approved the merger proposals submitted by the boards of these banks, finance minister Arun Jaitley said at a press briefing, adding that a proposal to merge Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with SBI is still under consideration. āThis merger will lead to far greater operational efficiency and synergy of operations. When the cost of operations comes down, the cost of funds will come down,ā he said. āSBI will become a very large bank but not merely from a domestic point of view. āWe are considering the proposa...