The Hindu Business Line : SBI opens 10,000th branch

10,000th branch: The Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, and the State Bank of India Chairman, Mr O.P. Bhatt, at SBI’s 10,000th branch, at Puduvayal in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

N.S. Vageesh

Puduvayal (TN), March 9 Puduvayal (loosely translates as ‘New Farm’) is a small town (85 km from Madurai) in the Chettinad region of Sivaganga, a southern district in Tamil Nadu that is also the Finance Minister’s pocket borough.

Known in these regions, till now, for its rice mills and for being a trade centre, this town of about 10,000 people acquired a new landmark to add to its heritage.

The State Bank of India opened its 10,000th branch here, on Sunday morning.

Addressing the gathering, Mr P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister, said “The State Bank of India becomes only the second bank in the world to have more than 10,000 branches, after China’s ICBC.”

He added that it was only after the UPA Government took office, that banks and insurance companies had started to go in search of customers rather than delivering their services only to those who came to their doorstep.

Loans disbursal

He said that about 10 lakh students had got about Rs 14,000 crore worth of educational loans from banks so far.

Referring to the Rs 60,000-crore waiver, he reiterated his earlier statement that it was nothing but discharging the nation’s debt to farmers.

Mr O.P. Bhatt, Chairman of SBI, said the new branch was sanctioning Rs 4 crore worth of loans — agricultural, educational and housing loans — from the new branch.

He said that the SBI group had opened 1,000 branches this year.

A press release issued in connection with the function mentioned that SBI plans to open at least 2,000 branches in rural India in the next two years.

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