SBI Plans to Open 400 Branches This Year as Part of Network Expansion

The State Bank of India (SBI) is set to open 400 new branches across the country in the current financial year. Last year, the country’s largest lender opened 137 branches, including 59 in rural areas.

Despite the rise in digital transactions, SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara emphasized the continued need for physical branches. “Even though 89% of digital and 98% of transactions happen outside the branch, branches are still required,” he told PTI. He highlighted that advisory and wealth services can only be offered in branches.

SBI currently has 22,542 branches nationwide as of March 2024. The new branches will be in locations where there is growth potential.

Regarding the monetisation of its subsidiaries, Khara said that SBI plans to wait until they grow further before listing them. This will help increase their value and ensure better returns for SBI. Specifically, he mentioned SBI General Insurance and SBI Payment Services as potential candidates for future listing but confirmed there are no plans for this in the current financial year.

In the past year, SBI infused an additional INR 489.67 crore into SBI General Insurance, reducing its stake from 69.95% to 69.11%. SBI General Insurance saw a net profit rise of 30.4% to INR 240 crore for the year ended March 2024, up from INR 184 crore the previous year.

SBI Payment Services, which handles merchant payments, is 74% owned by SBI and the rest by Hitachi Payment Services. It manages over 33.10 lakh merchant payment points and 13.67 lakh POS machines across India. However, its net profit declined to INR 144.36 crore for the year ended March 2024, compared to INR 159.34 crore the previous year.