On 14 September 2022, State Bank of India became the third lender (after HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank) and the seventh Indian company to cross the ₹5 trillion market capitalization on the Indian stock exchanges for the first time.[18] The largest public lender in the country reached a milestone in April 2024, when its market capitalization surpassed ₹7 trillion, making it the second public sector undertaking (PSU) to do so, after Life Insurance Corporation of India.[19] In June 2024, SBI crossed all time high market capitalisation of ₹8 trillion (8 lakh crore INR) becoming the 7th Indian company to cross this milestone, and third Indian bank after HDFC and ICICI in terms of market capitalisation. As of December 2024, State Bank of India has a market cap of ₹7.69 Trillion. This makes it the world's 200th most valuable company by market cap. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has identified SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), which are often referred to as banks that are "too big to fail".[20][21]
On 16 August 2022, in an attempt to facilitate and support India's start-ups, SBI announced the launch of its first "state-of-the-art" dedicated branch for start-ups in Bengaluru.[25]
History
Stamp dedicated to the State Bank of India in 2005Share of the Bank of Bengal, issued 13 May 1876Seal of Imperial Bank of India
The roots of the State Bank of India lie in the first decade of the 19th century when the Bank of Calcutta (later renamed the Bank of Bengal) was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal was one of three Presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July 1843). All three Presidency banks were incorporated as joint stock companies and were the result of royal charters. These three banks received the exclusive right to issue paper currency till 1861 when, with the Paper Currency Act, the right was taken over by the Government of India. The Presidency banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and the re-organised banking entity took as its name Imperial Bank of India. The Imperial Bank of India remained a joint-stock company but without Government participation.
Under the provisions of the State Bank of India Act of 1955, the Reserve Bank of India, which is India's central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. On 1 July 1955, the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government of India acquired the Reserve Bank of India's stake in SBI to remove any conflict of interest because the RBI is the country's banking regulatory authority.
In 1959, the government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act. This made eight banks that had belonged to princely states into subsidiaries of SBI. This was at the time of the First Five-Year Plan, which prioritised the development of rural India. The government integrated these banks into the State Bank of India system to expand its rural outreach. In 1963 SBI merged the State Bank of Jaipur (est. 1943) and State Bank of Bikaner (est.1944).
SBI has acquired local banks in rescues. The first was the Bank of Bihar (est. 1911), which SBI acquired in 1969, together with its 28 branches. The next year SBI acquired the National Bank of Lahore (est. 1942), which had 24 branches. Five years later, in 1975, SBI acquired Krishnaram Baldeo Bank, which had been established in 1916 in Gwalior State, under the patronage of Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia. The bank had been the Dukan Pichadi, a small moneylender, owned by the Maharaja. The new bank's first manager was Jall N. Broacha. In 1985, SBI acquired the Bank of Cochin in Kerala, which had 120 branches. SBI was the acquirer as its affiliate, the State Bank of Travancore, already had an extensive network in Kerala.
State Bank of India logo was designed by NID in 1971
There was, even before it happened, a proposal to merge all the associate banks into SBI to create a single very large bank and streamline operations.[29]
The first step towards unification occurred on 13 August 2008 when State Bank of Saurashtra merged with SBI, reducing the number of associate state banks from seven to six. On 19 June 2009, the SBI board approved the absorption of State Bank of Indore, in which SBI held 98.3%. (Individuals who held the shares before their takeover by the government held the balance of 1.7%.)[30]
The acquisition of State Bank of Indore added 470 branches to SBI's existing network of branches. Also, following the acquisition, SBI's total assets approached ₹10 lakh crore. The total assets of SBI and the State Bank of Indore were ₹9.98 lakh crore as of March 2009. The process of merging of State Bank of Indore was completed by April 2010, and the SBIndore branches started functioning as SBI branches on 26 August 2010.[31]
On 7 October 2013, Arundhati Bhattacharya became the first woman to be appointed chairperson of the bank.[32] Mrs. Bhattacharya received an extension of two years of service to merge into SBI the five remaining associate banks.
In February 2024, State Bank of India began a partnership with Flywire Corporation to make student fees and compliance with the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) more transparent.[33]
On September 30, 2024, SBI card partnered with Singapore Airlines for KrisFlyer Credit card which can be an attractive choice for frequent travelers. [34]
Administrative Offices and Branches
SBI provides a range of banking products through its network of branches in India and overseas, including products aimed at non-resident Indians (NRIs). Concerning domestic banking business, SBI has 17 regional hubs known as local head offices (LHOs), under whom are 57 administrative offices (AOs), that are located in important cities throughout India, under whom are furthermore administrative sub-offices known as regional business offices (RBOs), with each RBO having, under its direct administrative control, some 40 to 50 branches.
As per SBI Official website data, SBI has 22,405 branches in India.[35][36] In the financial year 2012–13, its revenue was ₹2.005 trillion (US$23 billion), 95.35% of which came from domestic operations. Similarly, domestic operations contributed to 88.37% of total profits for the same financial year.[35]
Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana of financial inclusion launched by Government in August 2014, SBI held 11,300 camps and opened over 30 lakh (3 million) accounts by September, which included 21 lakh (2.1 million) accounts in rural areas and 15.7 lakh (1.57 million) accounts in urban areas.[37]
International
As of 2014–15, the bank had 191 overseas offices spread over 36 countries having the largest presence in foreign markets among Indian banks.[38]
SBI Botswana The SBI Botswana subsidiary was registered on 27 January 2006 and was issued a banking licence by the Bank of Botswana on 29 July 2013. The subsidiary handed over its banking licence and closed its operations in the country.[42]
SBI Canada Bank[43] was incorporated in 1982 as a subsidiary of the State Bank of India. SBI Canada Bank is a Schedule II Canadian Bank listed under the Bank Act and is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
SBI (Mauritius) Ltd SBI established an offshore bank in 1989, State Bank of India International (Mauritius) Ltd. This then amalgamated with The Indian Ocean International Bank (which had been doing retail banking in Mauritius since 1979) to form SBI (Mauritius) Ltd. Today, SBI (Mauritius) Ltd has 14 branches – 13 retail branches and 1 global business branch at Ebene in Mauritius.[45]
In Nepal, SBI owns 55% of the share. (The state-owned Employees Provident Fund of Nepal owns 15% and the general public owns the remaining 30%.) Nepal SBI Bank Limited has branches throughout the country.
SBI Sri Lanka[46] now has three branches located in Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna. The Jaffna branch was opened on 9 September 2013. SBI Sri Lanka is the oldest bank in Sri Lanka; it was founded in 1864.
In Nigeria, SBI operates as INMB Bank. This bank began in 1981 as the Indo–Nigerian Merchant Bank and received permission in 2002 to commence retail banking. It now has five branches in Nigeria.
In Moscow, SBI owns 60% of Commercial Bank of India, with Canara Bank owning the rest. In Indonesia, it owns 76% of PT Bank Indo Monex. State Bank of India already has a branch in Shanghai and plans to open one in Tianjin.[47]
In Kenya, State Bank of India owns 76% of Giro Commercial Bank, which it acquired for US$8 million in October 2005.[48]
SBI South Korea In January 2016, SBI opened its first branch in Seoul, South Korea.
SBI USA
In 1982, the bank established a subsidiary, State Bank of India, which now has ten branches—nine branches in the state of California and one in Washington, D.C. The 10th branch was opened in Fremont, California on 28 March 2011. The other eight branches in California are located in Los Angeles, Artesia, San Jose, Canoga Park, Fresno, San Diego, Tustin and Bakersfield.
The plans for making SBI a single very large bank by merging the associate banks started in 2008, and in September of the same year, SBS merged with SBI. The very next year, the State Bank of Indore (SBN) also merged.
On 15 February 2017, the Union Cabinet approved the merger of five associate banks with SBI.[55] An analyst foresaw an initial negative impact as a result of different pension liability provisions and accounting policies for bad loans.[56][57] The merger went into effect from 1 April 2017.[58]
In March 2001, SBI (with 74% of the total capital), joined with BNP Paribas (with 26% of the remaining capital), to form a joint venture life insurance company named SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Other SBI service points
As of July 2023, the SBI group had 65,627 ATMs.[61] Since November 2017, SBI also offers an integrated digital banking platform named YONO.
In March 2020, as part of an RBI-directed rescue deal, the State Bank of India acquired 48.2% of the shares of Yes Bank.[62] As of 8 February 2024, the shareholding has decreased to 26.13%.[63]
Listings and shareholding
As of June 2024,[64] the Government of India held around 57.54% equity shares in SBI. The Life Insurance Corporation of India, itself state-owned, is the largest non-promoter shareholder in the company with 9.02% shareholding.[65]
SBI is one of the largest employers in the world with 232,296 employees as of 31 March 2024. Out of the total workforce, the representation of women employees is nearly 27%. The percentage of officers, associates, and subordinate staff was 47.4%, 38.4%, and 12.77% respectively on the same date. Each employee contributed a net profit of ₹2,620,460 (US$31,000) during FY 2023-24.[71]
Philanthropic Arm
State Bank of India maintains a philanthropic arm in the name of SBI Foundation which is involved to support development initiatives in India and also with initiatives that comply under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under corporate social responsibility.[72][73]
^"Monetary and Credit Information Review". Reserve Bank of India. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024. Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) - The Reserve Bank on January 2, 2023 released the list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs). State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank continue to be identified as D-SIBs, under the same bucketing structure as in the 2021 list of D-SIBs.
