Shares of public sector banks declined by as much as 4.3 per cent after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the lenders would require Rs 2.40 lakh crore capital by 2018 to meet global Basel III norms.

SBI was trading 2 per cent lower, while Indian Bank dropped 4.31 per cent on the BSE. Similarly, Oriental Bank of Commerce was down 3.66 per cent, Andhra Bank tanked 3.57 per cent, Indian Overseas Bank (3.49 per cent), Bank of India (3.19 per cent), Allahabad Bank (2.53 per cent), Union Bank of India (2.50 per cent) State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (1.49 per cent), United Bank of India (1.34 per cent) and Bank of Baroda (1.13 per cent).

Proposing to provide greater autonomy to public sector banks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said these lenders would require Rs 2.40 lakh crore capital by 2018 to meet global Basel III norms.