Following the merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with State Bank of India, the latter will enter the league of ‘Top 50 Global Banks’ with a balance sheet size of Rs 41 lakh crore, said India’s largest bank on Saturday.
The 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 is effective today.
In a posting on its website, SBI said with the merger, it 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.
“Having made significant investments in technology, SBI is in a position to offer the widest portfolio of digital products and services…..Thanks to the merger, three crore additional customers will have access to these products,” the bank said highlighting the benefits of the merger to customers.
Further, it said the larger branch and ATM network will enable SBI to offer its products and services seamlessly to varied customer segments across India, besides being easily accessible. .
With the merger, customers can access SBI across the globe at over 190 foreign offices in over 36 countries.
On the merger, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI, said: “We welcome the customers, employees and all other stakeholders of associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) to SBI fold.
"The bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter. The combined entity will enhance the productivity, mitigate geographical risks, increase operational efficiency and drive synergies across multiple dimensions while ensuring increased levels of customer delight.”
Post-merger, the bank will rationalise its branch network by relocating some of the branches to maximise the reach.