SBI associates suggest branch-swap strategy
By Our Banking Bureau | 03 Jun 2002
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the associate banks have branches outside their home state. For
example, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has 200 out of
its 800 branches located outside Rajasthan. State Bank of
Travancore (SBT) has several branches outside Kerala.
Thus, if SBBJ has a branch presence in Kerala and SBT has some
branch presence in Rajasthan, the two banks can enter into a swap
arrangement, whereby SBBJ takes over the branches of SBT in
Rajasthan and vice-versa.
SBBJ managing director N K Puri says each bank could take over the assets and liabilities of the other bank in its account books, bypassing a book entry.
The associate banks would thus be able to focus and leverage their strengths on their particular regions through this process. Around 50 such branches per bank could be rationalised through this process, amounting to a total of 350 branches that could be rationalised.
