SBI strengthens its market in U.S., U.K.

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 26 June 2009, 23:21 IST   |    1 Comments
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SBI strengthens its market in U.S., U.K.
Bangalore: After gaining a massive 54 percent growth rate despite slowdown in its international loan book, State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to strengthen its presence in countries including the U.S. and the U.K. which have strong India links. During 2008-09, the SBI international credit portfolio increased to Rs 86,267 crore against Rs 56,196 crore in the previous year. Currently, SBI has seven branches in the U.S. and about six in the U.K., while the bank has exchange services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A senior SBI official said, "Initiatives are going on to strengthen business in countries with a strong India linkage. We are restructuring our business model to become a major player for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)." To grow in international market, the bank along with its subsidiaries and joint ventures abroad opened nine offices including full-fledged retail operations in Singapore. To boost retail operations in Singapore, SBI opened three new branches and seven ATMs. One branch and a sub-office were added to the network in Male, capital of Maldives and a representative office in Tianjin in China. Besides, SBI California, the bank's wholly owned subsidiary in the U.S., opened its seventh branch in the country at Bakersfield. PT Bank Indomonex, a partly owned subsidiary in Indonesia, also opened two branches during the year. "In the end of 2008, the bank had a network of 92 overseas offices spread over 32 countries covering all time zones," said SBI official. The 92 offices comprised 37 branches, five sub-offices, eight representative offices, 35 branches of subsidiaries and three managed exchange companies.