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SBI is seeking to reach out to companies in various countries. Its key markets include the US, Europe, Asia and South Africa.
A senior SBI executive said though the bank was present in 34 countries, this wasn’t enough to expand its business abroad. SBI didn’t have a uniform brand image abroad, vis-à-vis international competitors, he added. There was no coordinated effort to build SBI as a brand in foreign markets.
SBI plans to appoint a consultant to help it develop media plans for an international corporate branding and publicity campaign. The campaign would be launched in phases in countries where SBI has a presence. Substantial gains are anticipated from the proposed branding and publicity blitz.
The bank’s international assets increased 13.3 per cent to Rs 1,86 lakh crore in the year ended June. Total income rose 2.2 per cent to Rs 1,942 crore.
SBI’s net profit from global operations took a hit, owing to huge provisions for depreciation in the value of securities. Net profit dived to Rs 10 crore in the quarter ended June from Rs 564 crore in the year-ago period.
Interview for SBI chairman next week
A government-appointed search panel will conduct interviews for selecting the chairman of the country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, on September 21. All the four managing directors had been called for the interview, a senior finance ministry official said. Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri is set to retire at the end of this month.
The finance ministry had sought exemption in regulatory guidelines so that more candidates could be interviewed for SBI’s top post. Based on that, ACC suggested the finance ministry invite all the four MDs interview, sources said.
With PTI inputs
