SBI evaluating 4 foreign banks for acquisition

State Bank of India (SBI) is evaluating four banks abroad for acquisition to expand its foreign operations in a bid to become one of the top three banks in Asia by 2008 and among the top 20 globally over the next few years.

"We are evaluating four international banks currently. I cannot divulge any further information on this," T S Bhattacharya, MD of SBI, said today.

"These are mid-size banks with low manpower. SBI expects
to complete the due diligence over the next three months," he added.

The bank had already taken over two overseas banks in Indonesia and Mauritius, Bhattacharya said.

The bank has set a target to double global assets in the next two years. "We want to double global assets to $13 billion in the next two years," Bhattacharya said.