State Bank of India (SBI) is set to open 23 more branches overseas by March 2010, reported The Times of India citing a SBI official. The expansion will enable it to consolidate its position as a financial services conglomerate in the global arena.
Reportedly, SBI is getting approximately 12% of its total revenue from overseas operations. The India-based lender is lookiing to set up 10-11 branches in Nepal, one branch in South Africa and one in Washington that will undertake a mix of business activities, including retail banking.
While receiving a UK delegation in September 2009, O P Bhatt, chairman of SBI said that the bank would set up an administrative office in UK by the end of this fiscal, to control its European operations and plans to open five new offices in UK. The banking major also aims to expand its footprint in Maldives, Mauritius and Doha Qatar Financial Centre.
The official told Press Trust of India that “Moving to newer markets is critical for SBI in the backdrop of India’s increasing integration to the rest of the world. We will increase our overseas presence to around 160 branches by March. The Washington branch will be a full service branch, that will offer all types of banking services to all class of customers including retail banking.
“With major world economies coming out of recession, there is a significant revival seen in the business confidence in world markets. This would help the banking industry to find new business opportunities,” reported the newspaper.
