SBI to acquire banks in Asia and Africa

BANGALORE: State Bank of India is planning to acquire banks in Asia and Africa to expand its business. The bank has already appointed a merchant banker to carry out due diligence for the acquisition.
This was disclosed by the bank chairman, A K Purwar, here, on Tuesday. "A bank with our capital base can sustain a much higher level of business. Today, we have the technology, business processes expertise to carry out a global business," he added.
Besides expanding its global base, SBI is also looking at a faster growth from its domestic operations.The bank is hoping to achieve 18-20 per cent growth in its revenue in the current financial year. Purwar said the economy is at a growth stage which translates into a good opportunity for the banking system. "With or without privatisation, banking system has a huge potential," he added.
Commenting on the country''s largest bank''s future performance, Purwar said SBI as a group was in a transitionary stage. Referring to SBI''s entry into various non-banking businesses like insurance, mutual funds and credit cards, he said these businesses would account for 15 per cent of the bottomline in the next three years.
He felt the non-banking business would also take care of the excess staff, generated by the deployment of technology. The bank, incidentally, is revamping its mutual fund business by inducting an international partner. The deal is expected to be completed during the current financial year.
He categorically denied that excess staff was an issue at SBI and even ruled out a second VRS (voluntary retirement scheme). "Our staff at 14,000 branches have to sell other non-banking products. So, there is no excess staff at present. We will take up the staff valuation 2-3 years later," he added.