The State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to establish a work from anywhere (WFA) infrastructure in response to the Covid-19 induced disruptions.
SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said that the lender expects to save as much as INR10bn ($133m) through this move.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
At the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM), Kumar said: “Following global best practices, the bank will institute work from anywhere (WFA) infrastructure to facilitate work from any location while taking care of social aspects of work-life balance.
“The measure is expected to save INR10bn through cost optimisation and will be a key component of our business continuity during times of Covid-19.”
Kumar notes that the bank will focus mainly on cost reduction, streamlining and reskilling its workforce, redeploying workforce from admin offices to sales and improving productivity.
The government-owned lender already has readied an elaborate business continuity plan (BCP) in place.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataSBI has established hub branches to cater to customers in case of emergency and BCP sites to support essential backend services.
The bank has begun monitoring all its projects under implementation and expects to boost its progress in short to medium term.
It has also set up financial inclusion and micro-market verticals and has also decided to size up its mobile banking app, SBI YONO.
Kumar added: “The bank will further scale up YONO and has set a target of doubling user registrations in the next six months and further strengthening the platform through new product offerings like end-to-end home loans, pre-approved car loan and personal gold loans.”
SBI intends to leverage its customer base of over 440 million, a diversified loan portfolio and digital leadership across channels for its growth in a post-Covid-19 scenario.
