Balurghat, Nov. 16: The five rural banks of Bengal will soon merge into one body which will be accorded the status of a nationalised bank.

The chairman of Gour Gramin Bank, Swapan Kumar Das, said the new bank would be called Bangiya Gramin Vikas Bank. The four other banks involved in the merger are Murshidabad Gramin Bank, Sagar Gramin Bank, Mallabhum Gramin Bank and Nadia Gramin Bank.

“Look at the growth of Gour Gramin Bank. It started off on October 2, 1975, with a seed money of Rs 1 crore. Today, we have an annual business of Rs 1,155 crore with more than 6 lakh account holders and 146 branches in Murshidabad, North and South Dinajpur and Malda,” the chairman said.

Das said the bank had extended loans to small, medium and large industries. “To be competitive, we have also entered the field of loans for education, agriculture, transport and housing. We give loans to self-help groups (SHGs) as well without asking for collateral,” he added.

Today, Das distributed Rs 15.5 lakh among members of 40 SHGs at a programme held at Gour Gramin Bank’s Trimohini branch in Hili.

Bangiya Gramin Vikas Bank is expected to have more than 550 branches across the state. “The legal process for the merger has been completed and it will be formally announced soon,” Das said.

He added that the model for rural banks was provided by this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus with the focus on SHGs. “One way to improve our business is to raise the living standards of the rural people, especially women,” Das said.