New Delhi, July 1 -- Saraswat Bank, India's largest urban cooperative bank, has announced on Tuesday that it plans to merge the crisis-hit New India Cooperative Bank (NICB) with itself.

Saraswat Bank's chairman Gautam Thakur has assured that there will not be any haircut for any of the over 1.22 lakh depositors of fraud-hit NICB, and all the savings will be protected, PTI reported.

Currently, the NICB depositors face withdrawal limits of Rs.25,000 per account due to the crisis.

Once the merger is finalised, depositors will be able to access the full amount, Thakur said, adding that he expects the merger to complete by end-September.

Thakur also said the bank has no immediate plans to convert into a commercial lender, and is keen to co...