Mumbai, March 31 (IANS): The amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into the Bank of Baroda (BoB) will come into effect April 1 and all branches of the former two will function as branches of BoB.

The cabinet had, in January, approved the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with BoB . Although employees of the two merging banks appealed the Supreme Court against the merger, a two-member bench on Thursday rejected the petition seeking a stay on its implementation.

"Consequently, all branches of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will function as branches of the Bank of Baroda from April 1, 2019. Customers, including depositors of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be treated as customers of Bank of Baroda with effect from April 1, 2019," a statement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Saturday.

Post the merger, Bank of Baroda would be the third largest bank in the country.

The merged entity would also receive Rs 5,042 crore fund infusion from the government. The Ministry of Finance has conveyed its decision to infuse the capital in BoB.

The infusion will be by way of preferential allotment of equity shares of the bank.