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Priya Nair

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Mumbai, May 10 State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, will add 1,000 branches in rural and semi-urban areas this fiscal.

The bank will also expand its sales force and tie-ups with business correspondents and business facilitators to double its growth of deposits and advances from rural branches, a senior official said.

The bank currently has around 7,000 branches in rural and semi-urban areas; deposits from these branches grew by 18 per cent and advances by 20 per cent in the just ended fiscal. The bank has set a target of 36 per cent growth in deposits and 34 per cent growth in advances for the current fiscal.

“We are looking to increase our reach in rural and semi-urban areas through three channels — branches; business correspondents and business facilitators; and point of sales machines and smart cards,” the official said.

For business correspondents, the bank has tied up with 110 post-offices to offer its deposit and loan products in under-banked areas. It plans to increase the number to 1,000 by next month. Through its tie-up with ITC’s e-Choupal and Drishti, the bank will expand its business and increase growth and volumes.

Its agri-and-rural sales force is 3,000 strong and it plans to hire 3,000 more this year.

As on March 31, 2008, rural and semi-urban business contributed 33 per cent of the bank’s total deposits and 25 per cent of total advances.

Educational loans from these branches accounted for Rs 1,500 crore, home loans Rs 12,000 crore, auto loans Rs 2,000 crore and personal loans Rs 17,000 crore.

The bank has issued 2.7 lakh smart cards so far and plans to increase this to 40 lakh cards.

More Stories on : Public Sector Banks | Outlook | State Bank of India

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