Photograph of SBI branch interior

 

State Bank of India is ramping
up its international expansion plans and is eyeing retail banking
growth in countries such as the US and the UK. Deepak Ahuja, head
of consumer banking and wealth at the bank’s UK operation,
discusses the growth opportunities for SBI with Douglas
Blakey.

 

Photograph of Deepak Ahuja, State Bank of IndiaWhile new
entrants to the UK retail banking sector such as Metro Bank, Tesco
Bank and Virgin Money may have been grabbing headlines in the
consumer and business press in the past year, another new entrant
has been growing its UK presence, quietly and very effectively.

India’s largest lender, State Bank
of India (SBI), now operates 10 branches in the UK, with further
growth on the cards.

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Until now, SBI’s overseas
operations have been focused on wholesale banking. That is all set
to change with ambitious retail banking plans for the US and the UK
in particular.

SBI’s UK initiative is being led by
its head of consumer banking and wealth, Deepak Ahuja; formerly the
head of the NRI banking of Barclays and an ex-Citigroup and ICICI
banker, Ahuja took up his current role in January.

SBI’s UK plans go beyond an
increase in its physical network: it is rolling out a new range of
branches aimed at prioritising customer service and transparency
and expanding its product range.

 

Making customers feel at
ease

Ahuja told RBI: “We open
in Coventry and Wolverhampton in the third or fourth quarter and
have added a branch in East Ham in February. That takes us up to 10
UK branches and will add some more next year; we are looking at
possible locations now.

“In the middle of last year, we
revamped and relaunched our UK website and already, we have tripled
our acquisition in terms of internet savings accounts.”

The focus is however on offering
branch-based customer service as opposed to concentrating on
growing internet-only customers, with Handelsbanken’s successful
branch strategy one which Ahuja acknowledged had been a banking
success story.

The new East Ham branch, situated
in the East end of London, features floor-to-ceiling windows, a
spacious open-plan design, a receptionist and complimentary teas
and coffees. Unlike many of the traditional branches in the area
operated by UK-headquartered rivals, SBI customers are able to
directly approach the manager’s glass-fronted open office, without
an appointment.

According to Ahuja, the interior
has been designed to make customers feel at ease, with the vast
majority of space prioritising customer service over back office
activity.

 

“Want to be a bank for
everyone”

“Our target market is people of
Indian origin. It is easy to get them as they know SBI and the
strength of the SBI brand,” he said.

“But we do not limit ourselves to
the one million people in the UK of Indian origin. We want to be a
bank to everyone where we operate, whatever their country
origin.”

As for further product growth, SBI
will look at the credit card sector, but not in the short term.

Photograph of SBI East Ham branch“We
want to highlight our focus in bringing fair, simple and
transparent products to our customers,” Ahuja said. “We intend to
provide more tailored solutions for our customers in future,
including investment products, residential mortgages and wealth
management.

“High-end, high-value wealth products will form the basis of
SBI’s focus on growing its share of the mass-affluent sector. Such
products are in the pipeline and now at the design stage,”
concluded Ahuja.