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In a break from years of tradition, the State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to relocate its annual board meeting from Kolkata. This year, it will take place in Mumbai, its corporate headquarters.
SBI’s roots in Kolkata date back to the 19th century, when the Bank of Bengal was established. In 1921, the Bank of Bengal and two other Presidency banks — Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras — were “reorganised” into Imperial Bank, which was reconstituted as the ‘State Bank of India’ in 1955.
The relationship between SBI and Kolkata took a hit in the 1970s, when the corporate headquarters was shifted to Mumbai, then Bombay. However, till the 1990s, some departmental headquarters were still based out of Kolkata. For the last quarter of a century, the annual board meet remained its sole link to the city, but even that now stands snapped.
The move comes at a time when the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has been projecting the State as “Best Bengal” or “Sonar Bangla”.
Banking industry sources link the development with the perceived decline in the State’s economic importance. “There is no legal binding on SBI to hold the board meet in Kolkata. But erstwhile chairpersons had been upholding this tradition. Business was never the consideration,” an ex-SBI official said, requesting anonymity.
SBI did not respond to mails sent by BusinessLine . Nor did it confirm whether this year’s meeting location is a one-off or will henceforth be the norm.
According to senior SBI officials, the top management has cited “logistics issues”.
Apart from the Chairman and three MDs, 14 Deputy MDs, nearly 44 CGMs, other senior board members and support staff come down for the meeting annually. An entourage of 200-odd people, which includes several analysts, flies down.
The IPL theory
Accommodating such a huge number of people during the ongoing IPL season is difficult.
However, Kolkata hoteliers discount the IPL theory. According to them, there are only two or three hotels where IPL teams are put up. These aren’t the ones where SBI puts up its officials and guests.
“Even if SBI considers the cost of travel and putting up its officials and guests in hotels, it is not going to exceed ₹10 crore. It’s not huge by SBI’s scale,” said the top official of another bank.“However, the board meet relocation could impact the bank’s historical connection with the city.”
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