State Bank of India (SBI) supports the idea of another wave of public sector bank mergers as policymakers seek to build scale and fund growth in India’s rapidly expanding economy. SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty told Bloomberg that rationalising smaller, sub-scale banks could be beneficial, adding that another round of consolidation “may not be a bad idea.”
SBI, headquartered in Mumbai, controls roughly a quarter of India’s ₹194-lakh crore loan market, with a $787 billion balance sheet, over 22,500 branches, and 500 million customers. The government is exploring ways to create large state lenders to finance infrastructure and industrial projects, aligning with Prime Minister Modi’s vision to make India a developed economy by 2047. Bank financing is expected to rise to 130% of GDP from the current 56% to support an anticipated ten-fold GDP increase.
Setty noted that while US tariffs have affected exports, SBI continues to support exporters and hasn’t trimmed exposure. Corporate loan competition is rising, prompting the bank to increase its credit growth forecast to 12–14% for the current year.
SBI is also expanding in wealth management, hiring 1,000 wealth managers and opening wealth hubs in 110 micro-markets, with plans for 50–100 more hubs. The bank is poised to grow market share and participate in India’s booming M&A financing landscape while maintaining careful risk-based pricing.
