By The opening of two new branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Sri Lanka, namely in Jaffna and Trincomalee, has a number of potential implications for the Sri Lankan banking sector.
Many Of the other Bankers are worried, as this may bring about competition that would be difficult to face
The State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest public sector bank in India and one of the largest commercial banks in the world in terms of assets. It was founded in 1806 as the Bank of Calcutta and was nationalized in 1955. SBI has over 23,000 branches and 60,000 ATMs in India and overseas. It also has a presence in over 20 countries through its subsidiaries and branches.
Currently, SBI Sri Lanka is operating through 5 branches, namely the Fort and FCBU branches at the main building in Fort, the Colpetty branch, the Wellawatta branch, and the Kandy branch.
During the Sri Lankan economic crisis, SBI’s presence in Sri Lanka paved the way for a smooth extension of the Line of Credit worth $1 billion by the Government of India to Sri Lanka.
