The State Bank of India (SBI) has urged the Andhra Pradesh State Government to allot 10-acre land in the A.P. Capital Region for setting up its corporate headquarters of Andhra Pradesh, SBI Chief General Manager C. R. Sasi Kumar said on Wednesday.
Mr. Sasi Kumar, who was here to launch the bank’s new branch at Penamaluru, told The Hindu that the Government had responded positively to the bank’s plea. The SBI is keen on establishing its State headquarters in the capital region as it sees a huge business opportunity. The bank’s headquarters for AP and Telangana is currently located at Hyderabad.
“There are ample opportunities for expansion of banking activities in Andhra Pradesh. That is why we approached the Government seeking its support in all aspects”, he said.
The SBI was the largest bank in Andhra Pradesh with its wide network. The SBI has 1,424 branches in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The newly launched Penamaluru branch was 994 th in the State. The bank has plans to add 50 more branches in the State during the current fiscal, he said.
Mr. Sasi Kumar said that the bank’s performance in the district was good. The bank did a business of about Rs.8,000 crore during last fiscal and targeting a growth of 16 to 17 per cent during this financial year. The SBI’s core strength was retail banking. The bank foresees immense potential in realty sector in the Capital region. Focus would be on housing loans and other retail loans. The bank also sees good potential in industrial sector, he said.
SBI General Manager Ashwin Mehta, Deputy General Manager (B&O) Rajiv Kohli, Regional Manager Krishna Rural G. Appa Rao, Penamaluru branch manager R. Radhakrishna and others were present.
