After leapfroging into the league of top 50 global banks following the merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with it, State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya has set her sights higher, wanting her bank to break into the top 30 global league in the next few years.
Bhattacharya, in an address to her colleagues, including those from associate banks and BMB, said “Our endeavour is to be in the list of top 30 global banks in the next few years. I am sure that with your participation we will certainly be able to achieve this goal sooner than expected.”
Following the merger of merger of five associate banks – State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, and State Bank of Travancore -- and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with it, SBI now has a balancesheet size (deposits plus advances) of Rs 41 lakh crore.
With the merger, which is effective from April 1, SBI now has 2.77 lakh employees, 50 crore customers, and more than 25,000 branches and 58,000 ATMs. Further, SBI’s market share will increase to nearly 22 per cent from 17 per cent. In this regard, Bhattacharya observed that SBI is a mammoth but nimble organisation that can do wonders.
“After the merger of all the associate banks and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank with us we are at long last one entity today -- the bigger, better and stronger SBI. Our growth, dominant market share, bouquet of products and wide reach are all due to the immense efforts of all of you.
“The employees are the one who made all these happen and this merger, I promise you, will be a successful one. The merger process does need efforts at all levels, be it branch or local head office or corporate office, the participation of every individual is essential,” said the SBI chief in her pep talk to employees.
Emphasising that the customer is at the centre of the bank’s activity (what the bank is now and where it shall be in the future is dependent on the customers and how they are served), Bhattacharya said the bank’s services have to reach the highest possible level, comparable to one of the best in the world. This is all the more relevant now as SBI is currently in the league of the top 50 banks of the world.
She said “Let us all pledge on this day that we shall continue to be customer-centric with special emphasis on digital and anytime channel banking,” said the SBI chief.
As an employee and as an individual, facing the customers, Bhattacharya felt that employees’ inputs will be very crucial in improving the services the bank offers and in order to enhance the customer experience.
The SBI chief reiterated that during the course of this merger process, if any employee faces any difficulties or has any issues, they should let her know through the internal 'Aspirations’ platform or by email. She assured the employees that their difficulties/ issues will be examined on a priority basis.