SBI sees this fiscal as a turning point

State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar expects fiscal 2020 to be a turning point for India’s biggest lender. The bank will direct its efforts to achieve a more sustainable mix of business both in its domestic and overseas operations, Kumar wrote to the bank’s shareholders in SBI’s FY19 annual report.

To assuage the fears of bad loans, Kumar told shareholders that exposure to sensitive and stressed sectors such as real estate and telecom are being reviewed at half-yearly intervals. Sectors such as power, telecom, iron and steel, textiles, which are going through a challenging phase, are watched continuously. 

The bank, he said, has started the revamp of the corporate credit structure and system within the bank on lines that will widen its client base and focus on new segments.

He said he is taking cues from the last year; the bank has set the goal to achieve a healthy credit growth of 10-12% in this fiscal. 

To an extent the credit revival and recoveries in fiscal 2019 have already set the tone and the bank is confident of achieving the target set this fiscal.

“My message this year highlights the progress in the revival strategy,” he said.

The growth in business, Kumar said, will be achieved by portfolio re-ordering to reduce the credit risk-weighted assets (RWA) to total advances ratio and internal reorganisation of the corporate banking. 

“Accordingly, our transformation strategy going forward will continue to focus predominantly on five areas: customer service, corporate credit revamp, digitisation of banking operations, synergy between subsidiaries and development of our human resource,” said Kumar.

The bank already has a large customer base in every business segment and therefore the benefits of retaining the existing customer base far outweigh the cost of acquiring new.

“Accordingly, in the coming year, the bank will roll out revised customer satisfaction measures to gauge customer satisfaction. Our unique training programme - ‘Nayi Disha- Phase 2’ - be focusing on a customer-centric approach for employees, thus linking our human resource training with customer service,” he said.

“Strengthening of credit processes and increased product penetration across high priority relationships have been and will be our guiding principle going forward,” he said. However, Kumar cautioned that a sustainable recovery is not just a mechanical arithmetic but also requires deep structural transformation and strategic shifts in the portfolio. Revamping of corporate credit structure and system within the bank has already been initiated.