India’s fourth largest private bank will come into being with the approval of Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.

In November 2014, Kotak Mahindra had announced the buyout of ING Vysya Bank in an all-stock deal. In December 2014, Kotak Mahindra approached CCI for its approval on the deal. The proposed combination would not result in the removal of a significant competitor," the order of the CCI order said while giving green signal to the Rs.15,000 crore merger proposal.

The CCI noted that the market shares of both the banks is insignificant and that presence of large players in these markets would act as a competitive constraint to the parties. The competition regulator took into account multiple relevant markets including those for deposits, home loans, agricultural banking and card business.

Kotak Mahindra had announced the buyout of ING Vysya Bank in an all-stock deal in November last year following which it had approached CCI for approval on the deal in December. "The commission is of the opinion that the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India," the CCI order said.

However, the deal will give Kotak a significant ramp-up in its branch presence in southern India. At present, 46 per cent of its branches are in western parts of the country and ING has large presence in the South. Kotak has strong retail business and this will be leveraged with ING's small and medium enterprises (SME) clientele base.

Currently, Kotak Mahindra Bank offers a wide range of banking and financial services through its 641 branches located across India. Kotak, through its various subsidiaries, also provides life insurance, asset management, brokerage, investment banking and investment advisory services.

The  ING Vysya has 573 branches across India and offers retail banking, corporate banking and credit card services. The bank also provides portfolio management, investment advisory and securities depository services.