Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced establishing 500 new branches of State Bank of India in the financial year 2025. The finance minister praised the remarkable growth of the state owned banking PSU and its significant contribution to the banking ecosystem.
“I understand 500 branches are going to be opened in this financial year 2025. So, 23 000 branches today, 6580 ATMs, 85, 000 banking correspondence, Deposits are 22.4 percent Advances are 19 per cent, 50 crore plus customers, 25 per cent debit card expense, 22 per cent of mobile banking transactions and 25 per cent of bank UPI transactions and 29 per cent ATM footprint,” she said while speaking at the centenary celebration of the SBI Mumbai main branch building.
The finance minister hailed SBI’s role in the Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Suraksha Yojana, Jivan Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Yojana, highlighting its contributions across various other priority sector lending activities.
“Between 2014 and today, the role of SBI in taking banking to the ordinary citizens in the far-flung areas, be it through your digital public infrastructure or your digital banking services, or through the various comment schemes, which are aimed at reaching the common man,” she said.
She further applauded its digital innovation adding that the bank gave equal importance in developing digital infrastructure through all of its branches.
“The digital app that SBI brought out has eight crore plus customers, and its internet banking customers, particularly in the retail now stands at 13.2 crores, some countries, some countries do not even have population that size, but you’re servicing that many people and I understand your digital investments are kept robust such that it can handle around 20 crore UPI transactions per day. It’s a history on its own,” the Union minister noted.
The minister also praised the PSU for its achievement, reflecting on the remarkable progress made from 2014 to the present and potentially even further into the future, suggesting that the trajectory is beyond comparison.
“I compared with the 100 branches in five years in 1920 at the time of amalgamation to 22,500. Now, Similarly, if you compare your 22, 500 now or one, which is relevant to up to say 2014 and between 2014 and today, exponential growth in reaching every citizen of this country.”