SBI plans to open 23 overseas branches by March

Banking major SBI, which enjoys the largest overseas presence among domestic banks, is in advanced stages of opening 23 more branches abroad over the next four months, a top SBI official said.

“Moving to newer markets is critical for SBI in the backdrop of India’s increasing integration with the rest of the world. We will increase our overseas presence to around 160 branches by March,” the official told PTI.

State Bank of India, which derives around 12 per cent of its total revenue from the overseas business, at present has 137 branches abroad.

SBI plans to open 10-11 new branches in Nepal, where SBI has the largest foreign presence, by March. This will take its total branch-strength in Nepal to 48 from 37 now.

In Washington, where SBI already have a representative office, the bank plans to open one branch shortly that will undertake a mix of business activities, including retail banking, the official said.