State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in India. The bank traces its ancestry back through the Imperial Bank of India to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. The Government of India nationalised the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the Government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network in India and overseas, including products aimed at NRIs. With an asset base of $126 billion and its reach, it is a regional banking behemoth. SBI has laid emphasis on reducing the huge manpower through Golden handshake schemes, which led to a flight of its best and brightest managers which took to retirement allowances and then went on the become senior managers at new private sector banks, and computerizing its operations. The State Bank Group, with over 16000 branches , has the largest branch network in India. It has a market share among Indian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for almost one-fifth of the nation’s loans.[2] The State bank of India is 29th most reputable company in the world according to Forbes.[3]
