2025, Vol. 8, Issue 2

The consolidation of public sector banks in India marked a significant structural reform in the financial sector, aimed at enhancing operational strength and financial resilience. One of the most significant mergers was that of Punjab National Bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India on 1st April, 2020. While the merger expanded PNB’s market reach and operational scale, it also integrated substantial Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) from the merging banks. This study aims to assess the impact of the merger on PNB’s NPA levels, recovery trends, and overall financial health from 2015-16 to 2024-25. The data have been collected through secondary sources which includes Annual reports of Punjab National Bank, RBI Financial Stability Reports, Financial newspapers and RBI merger circulars for the study. This study analyses key financial indicators such as profitability, asset quality, and operational efficiency including some financial ratios like ROA, ROE, NIM, Gross NPA, Net NPA and Cost-to-Income before and after the merger to assess its impact. t-test has been applied at 95% confidence level for testing significant difference in terms of profitability, asset quality, and operational efficiency through SPSS Software. The study reveals a significant difference amongst selected financial parameters of the bank in terms of Return on Assets, Return on Equity, Net Profit, Net NPA. However, the difference was insignificant in terms of Net Interest Margin, Gross NPA and Cost-to-Income ratio. Moreover, the merger is successful for Punjab National Bank.