About

SBI's presence in the African continent, apart from South Africa, extends to Mauritius and having joint venture bank Nigeria as well as representative offices in Cairo, Egypt and Angola. The increasing trade between South Africa and India, excellent political equations between the two governments and expanding potential for economic ties provided the necessary impetus for establishment of our presence in South Africa. The Johannesburg branch of SBI was established in March 1997. In our ongoing endeavor to reach out to more clients, we have an office in Durban and have also established marketing offices in Cape Town and Lenasia.

SBI perceives its role as a facilitator between the business community in South Africa and India and as a Banking intermediary between the banks in India and the trade community in South Africa. While India-related business does constitute a thrust area of activity, SBI in South Africa is active in Corporate Finance, International Trade, Project Finance, Remittances and Correspondent Banking. The Bank/Branch is manned by a team of skilled and experienced managers from India coupled with the talent of knowledgeable and experienced local personnel. Modern infrastructure facilities are in place and the branch functions in a totally computerised work environment. SBI is equipped with state-of-the-art Reuters system for online market information and Reuters 3000 Dealing System for efficient money / forex market operations as also the SWIFT global communication system to facilitate speedy and accurate transmission of forex remittances, both inward and outward, and prompt local inter-bank settlements. SBI is also one of the participating banks in the National Payment System – through SAMOS , Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) and ATM Debit Cards. The huge network of domestic branches in India, presence in all major international financial centers and agency arrangements with correspondent banks in many countries add depth and breadth to the geographical reach of SBI and ensures operating efficiency particularly in international trade services.

State Bank of India (SBI), with a 200 year history, is the largest commercial bank in India in terms of assets, deposits, profits, branches, customers and employees. The Government of India is the single largest shareholder of this Fortune 500 entity with 59.41% ownership. The origins of State Bank of India date back to 1806 when the Bank of Calcutta (later called the Bank of Bengal) was established. In 1921, the Bank of Bengal and two other banks (Bank of Madras and Bank of Bombay) were amalgamated to form the Imperial Bank of India. In 1955, the Reserve Bank of India acquired the controlling interests of the Imperial Bank of India and SBI was created by an act of Parliament to succeed the Imperial Bank of India. The SBI group, consisting of SBI, six associate banks and more than 50 subsidiaries and joint ventures worldwide.

SBI is engaged in the business of commercial banking globally. The group has an extensive network, with over 17,000 branches and 142 foreign offices in over 30 countries across the world. As of 31st March 2010, the Group had assets worth USD 284 billion, deposits of USD 248 billion and capital & reserves in excess of USD 18 billion. The group commands nearly 20% share of the domestic Indian banking market with a customer base of over 146 million. Over 70% of large Indian corporations and 50% of mid-sized corporations bank with SBI. SBI’s non- banking subsidiaries/joint ventures are market leaders in their respective areas and provide wide ranging services, which include life insurance, merchant banking, mutual funds, credit cards, factoring services, security trading and primary dealership, making the SBI Group a truly large financial supermarket and India’s financial icon.