The government on Wednesday approved the merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda to make it a globally competitive lender and the country’s third-largest lender, PTI reported. The merger had been announced in September.

“There will be no impact on the service conditions of the employees and there will be no retrenchment following the merger,” Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

The new entity will come into force on April 1, NDTV reported, citing a government statement. The undertakings owned by Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be transferred to Bank of Baroda, including assets, liabilities, rights, titles, claims, licenses, approvals, privileges and properties.

Earlier in the day, the bank finalised the share swap ratio for the merger. The shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of Bank of Baroda for every 1,000 shares they hold while the shareholders of Dena Bank will get 110 shares for every 1,000 shares, PTI reported.

Last week, state-owned banks were closed due to a nationwide strike called by unions against the merger. Around one lakh branches and offices of 21 public sector banks were closed and 10 lakh employees joined the strike, according to the United Forum of Bank Unions.