Pune (Maharashtra): Public sector bank, Bank Of Maharashtra (BoM) has announced the closure of 51 branches across the country as part of cost-cutting measures being implemented in the banking industry, an official said on Wednesday.

All the branches were in urban centres and have been identified for the action as they were declared nonviable and were incurring huge losses, said the official of the Pune-headquartered bank.

Declining to be identified, the senior bank official said that these 51 units have been closed down and merged with neighbouring branches.

This is the first such measure initiated by any PSB in Maharashtra. The BoM has around 1,900 branches all over India.

In a terse announcement on Monday, the BoM said that it has closed down and merged these 51 branches for public convenience.

The IFSC Code and MICR codes of these branches have also been cancelled and all the savings, current and other bank accounts have been transferred to the branches with which they have been merged.

All customers have been directed to deposit their cheque-books issued from the closed branches with the old IFSC/MICR Codes by November 30, and collect their payment instruments bearing the new branch's IFCS/MICR codes.

The BoM cautioned that since the old IFSC/MICR Codes have been spiked and shall be discontinued permanently from December 31, the customers, henceforth, should conduct all their banking transactions only with the new IFSC/MICR Codes.