Coimbatore : As part of consolidation of the banks, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank will merge and become one entity from April next year,  a top Canara Bank official said Wednesday.
    

While Canara Bank has a business of Rs.10 lakh crore, the Syndicate Bank Rs.five lakh crore and with merger the Canara Bank will have a total Rs.15 lakh crore turnover, Canara Bank Chairman,  T N Manoharan told reporters here.
    

With reforms in place in phases, from manual banking to digital banking, there is only 25 per cent physical banking in the sector at present, he said.
    

Throwing light on the misconception that there were job loss due to the merger of banks, Manoharan said that the banks were recruiting more than the number who were retiring annually and the merger was ensuring quality services

    

On the impact of economic slow down, he said that credit growth has not yet picking up. But it is slow and steady, he said.
    

Though there was decline in the corporate lending, banks were shifting focus on retail lending and also other sectors like automobile, housing and personal loans, Manoharan said.
    

He was here to deliver the Prof P R Ramaswami Endowment lecture organised by SNR and Sons Trust at Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College.