The country?s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), has organised a four-day conclave in Goa for its senior management, including the bank?s chairman, OP Bhatt, to plan the bank?s future growth strategies. McKinsey has been roped in by the bank to help conceptualise new ideas to expand the bank?s business.
?We are meeting in Goa to decide our mid-course action. The purpose is to chart out our future course of action at a time when the financial landscape is transforming. Mckinsey is offering us presentations about possible strategies. Some important issues, like leadership and integration, are being discussed at the conclave,? said a senior official of the bank. The existing blueprint, which drove the bank?s growth strategies for last the few years, has served its time and the bank has to put in place a new game plan for the next five to 10 years.
After brainstorming sessions, senior officials will compile the recommendations, which will later be discussed by the bank?s top management. The bank had earlier hired McKinsey for implementing its business processing engineering. The bank is also assessing about 20 different proposals from investment bankers in a bid to effect inorganic growth in foreign locations. ?We are assessing markets like Western Europe, North America, East Africa, South Africa, Far East and West Asia,? added the bank official.
SBI is expected to open 20-25 overseas branches or representative offices over the next three months. The bank had, last month, opened a branch in Washington, which will be a part of SBI?s subsidiary in California for retail and corporate banking. SBI will continue to have its representative office in Washington. ?By the end of March 2010, we will open at least 20 foreign branches or representative offices across new locations. We have also decided to open more branches in the UK. SBI?s inorganic expansion outside India is most likely to happen in the next financial year,? he added. In the last one week, various subsidiaries of SBI opened new branches in countries like Nepal, Mauritius and Nepal.
Despite the slowdown in UK, SBI?s retail operations are performing very well. ?It?s the prime reason that we have planned to add 2-3 new branches in Greater London in the next three months,? the official said.