State Bank of India

State Bank of India is the largest bank in India.  The company was founded in 1806 and is based in Mumbai, India.  The government of India owns approximately 63.8 percent of bank’s shares.  The bank was founded in 1806 as Bank of Calcutta.  The government of India nationalized State Bank of India in 1955 with the Reserve Bank of India, the principal supervisory authority of banks, having a 60% stake in the bank.  The U.S. operations of the bank is a U.S. branch of a Foreign Institution and has been FDIC insured since December 8, 1971.  The certificate number is 33682.  Its main office is located at: 460 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022

The State Bank is India’s largest commercial bank and ranks among the top 20 banks in Asia.  The bank serves more than 75 million customers, has 9,000 branches and 200,000 employees.  The bank engages primarily in corporate and retail banking and trade finance but also provides through its subsidiaries life insurance, merchant banking, brokerage, credit card processing, and credit information services in India.  Outside India, Bank maintains offices in 32 countries.  In the United States, Bank operates insured branches in New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois; an agency in Los Angeles, California; and a representative office in Washington, D.C.  Bank also operates a wholly owned subsidiary, State Bank of India (California), also in Los Angeles.  The bank is a qualifying foreign banking organization under Regulation K.

State Bank of India, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in India and internationally.  The company offers personal banking products and services, including term deposits, recurring deposits, housing loans, car loans, educational loans, personal loans, loans for pensioners, loans against mortgage of property, loans against shares and debentures, current accounts, and savings accounts, as well as mobile banking, ATM, Internet banking, locker, foreign inward remittance services; and pay roll cards, gift cards, travel cards, and gift checks.  It also provides NRI services that include deposit accounts, NRI car and home loans, and remittances; and agricultural/rural services, such as agricultural banking and micro credit.  In addition, State Bank of India offers international banking services comprising trade finance, correspondent banking, merchant banking, project export finance, offshore banking, and treasury services; and corporate banking products and services, such as working capital financing, project finance, corporate term loans, deferred payment guarantees, corporate loans, export credit, strategic business units, structured finance, dealer financing, channel financing, equipment leasing, and loan syndication.  Further, the company provides domestic treasury services.

The Reserve Bank of India is the principal supervisory authority of the bank and the banking industry in India, including banks foreign subsidiaries and affiliates.  The Reserve Bank of India is the central bank of India, and was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.  The Reserve Bank of India helps ensure the country’s monetary stability.  The bank creates monetary policy and assists in regulating its financial system.

Indian laws impose various prudential limitations on banks, including limits on transactions with affiliates and large exposures.  The Reserve Bank of India is authorized to request and receive information from any bank and its domestic and foreign affiliates and to impose penalties for failure to comply with a disclosure request or for providing false or misleading information.  The Reserve Bank of India also has the authority to impose conditions on licensees and to impose penalties for failure to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s rules, orders, and directions.  Penalties include monetary fines, removal of management, and the revocation of the authority to conduct business.

The Reserve Bank of India has the authority to license banks, regulate their activities and approve expansion, both domestically and abroad.  It supervises and regulates Bank through a combination of regular on-site reviews and off-site monitoring.  On-site examinations cover the major areas of operation, capital adequacy, management, risk-management strategies, asset quality, detailed loan portfolio analysis, earnings, liquidity, anti-money-laundering controls and internal controls and procedures.  The frequency of on-site examinations depends on a bank’s risk profile, but generally all Indian banks, including the State Bank of India, are examined at least annually.

The FDIC reports as of June 30, 2008 indicate the bank has total assets of $2,620,379.000.00 and total deposits of $1,332,389,000.00.

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