Strict regulatory compliance and the entry of new banks and non-bank entities have presented both opportunities and challenges to established players in the financial system, according to Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
As the number of banking service providers rise in the wake of India’s favourable demographics at median age 28 and growing aspirations, they have been expanding the customer base, Sitharaman said at the launch of State Bank of India’s platinum jubilee year celebrations. She virtually inaugurated 70 branches and 501 women-led customer service points (CSPs).
She emphasised that with a surge in tech-savvy customers, there is an increasing demand for innovative, personalised and on-the-go banking experiences.
Sitharaman noted that despite the “recent disruptions and regulatory tightening”, SBI has retained its position as a market leader, carrying the trust of crores in a lower-to-middle income economy. The Government holds 57.43 per cent stake in India’s largest bank
More agile and competitive
“As the largest commercial bank in the Indian sub-continent, catering to about 5.6 per cent of the global population, SBI has become more agile and competitive than ever before.
“Unlike many organisations that resist change, SBI has embraced it whole-heartedly, maintaining its leadership across all areas of banking. These transformative initiatives have strengthened SBI’s competitiveness and relevance to its customer base, which is very diverse,” she said.
The minister emphasised that the bank is now ideally positioned to deliver superior value creation through sustainable growth.
“SBI aims to achieve this by enhancing its operational excellence across lending performance, asset quality, profitability and capital generation, thereby driving wealth creation.
“To power these efforts, SBI has bolstered its infrastructure, established a robust monitoring and control framework and built a talent pool of committed professionals,” the minister said.
Additionally, the bank has re-engineered its internal processes to improve risk management and accelerate growth velocity.