State Bank of India, US Operations: "From Baby Steps to Giant Steps" Pradeep Kumar, USA Country Head of State Bank of India. 

State Bank of India, US Operations: "From Baby Steps to Giant Steps"

Notwithstanding the financial losses and shrinking values leading financial institutions incurred around the world in the past few years, the State Bank of India, United States Operations has increased its balance sheet to nearly three times in the past three years. How did this happen?

In an exclusive interview, Pradeep Kumar, Country Head (USA) of State Bank of India spoke to this writer at his newly renovated mid-town office in the heart of the New York City. "There are several factors that led to this historic growth and expansion," he said. Pradeep Kumar took over the US Operations three years ago. "India's economy was growing rapidly at close to nine percent annually, a majority of our clients are ‘India-oriented' and we have been able to offer excellent services to our clients."

Pradeep Kumar, USA Country Head of State Bank of India.

That was not enough, concedes Pradeep Kumar, who has been employed with State Bank of India since November 1976 and held management positions of increasing responsibility and authority over the years. Bringing with him a very rich and wide experience in the areas of technology banking, operations, corporate lending, banking compliance and retail banking, Kumar wanted to expand. "Being conservative and prudent in nature, we at SBI have been taught to take ‘baby-steps' in all of our operations. I had realized, unless we change our outlook and learn to take ‘giant-steps' we will not be able to grow and keep pace with the rapidly changing global market."

Pradeep Kumar, Country Head, US Operations of the Bank since September 2006, oversees the operations of the Bank in USA, which has three branches, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and a representative office in Washington DC, with assets close to US $ 6 billion. He also has oversight responsibilities for business growth, profit budgets, risk management & compliance. He is also on the Board of the subsidiaries of the Bank, State Bank of India California & State Bank of India Canada.

Taking upon himself the challenge of educating nearly 160 staff members in the four branches, Kumar led the Bank to "expansion with caution and prudence." His efforts began to bear fruit. In the midst of shrinking financial sector in the US, SBI Pradeep Kumar & Team Innovate and Lead Bank to Record Growth has been successful in expanding its share of the market in the US almost three times in just three years. Giving credit to his staff, who stood by him and the top management of the Bank, who trusted his ability to take on this giant step, Kumar, who holds a Masters degree in Statistics from Presidency College in Madras and is a certified member of the Indian Institute of Bankers, says, "The dedication and commitment of our staff and management have helped the bank move a step closer to consolidating its position in the global financial services industry, by attracting more and more American clientele." Moreover, in 2008, for the first time in its more than three decades of its existence in the US, SBI New York earned the #1 Rating from the FDIC, which is given to very few banks across the US.

Kumar says, "Though, I had joined SBI 33 years ago as a Probationary Officer just with the objective of finding a job, my close association with the Bank has shaped my personality and I derive satisfaction and joy in contributing towards the Bank's commitment to complete and comprehensive nation-building."

Before being posted as Country Head US Operations, Pradeep Kumar worked as General Manager from September 2004 to September 2006 at the Bank's Local Head Office, in Chennai, India as a member of the Top Executive Group of the Bank. Kumar has held various other senior management positions in branch operations, retail banking, commercial lending, technology, stressed assets management and head office administration across different cities in India.

During his long career, he touched the lives of many people. Sharing with this writer several experiences, Kumar recalls, "The Bank has been actively involved since 1973 in non-profit activity called Community Services Banking. All our branches and administrative offices throughout the country sponsor and participate in large number of welfare activities and social causes. Our business is more than banking because we touch the lives of people in many ways. And that's what is keeping us going, giving us immense satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment."

State Bank of India staff at the newly renovated New York branch office.

The origin of the State Bank of India goes back to the first decade of the nineteenth century with the establishment of the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta on June 2, 1806. Three years later the bank received its charter and was re-designed as the Bank of Bengal (2 January 1809). A unique institution, it was the first joint-stock bank of British India sponsored by the Government of Bengal. The Bank of Bombay (15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (1 July 1843) followed the Bank of Bengal. These three banks remained at the apex of modern banking in India till their amalgamation as the Imperial Bank of India on 27 January 1921. Their evolution was, however, shaped by ideas culled from similar developments in Europe and England and influenced by changes occurring in the structure of both the local trading environment and those in the relations of the Indian economy to the economy of Europe and the global economic framework.

The State Bank of India was thus born with a new sense of social purpose aided by the 480 offices comprising branches, sub offices and three Local Head Offices inherited from the Imperial Bank. The concept of banking as mere repositories of the community's savings and lenders to creditworthy parties was soon to give way to the concept of purposeful banking sub-serving the growing and diversified financial needs of planned economic development. The State Bank of India was destined to act as the pacesetter in this respect and lead the Indian banking system into the exciting field of national development.

Today, State Bank of India, United States Operations, offers a wide array of services including money transfer, deposits, loans and trade services. The State Bank of India provides a range of banking services from its branches in the US, offering its clients trade finance and short-term working capital loans, including letters of credit and bank guarantees, term loans and project finance as well as syndication of credit requirements at competitive rates.

Boasting of more than 10,000 registered users for remittances and over 6,000 Deposit accounts, SBI in the US has about 25% of its business coming from local non-Indian customers and Kumar wants to attract more American clients in the coming months/years. Under Pradeep Kumar's leadership, State Bank of India has chalked out strategies to grow aggressively in the United States. Growing with the changing times and with a view to attract the nearly three million People of Indian Origin living in the United States, Kumar and his team have come up with a unique idea of "Banking from your home." One need not have a local branch of SBI in his/her hometown. One can open and operate a bank account with SBI while sitting in the comfort of his home anywhere in the US," says Kumar.

SBI has partnered with STAR Network the largest ATM network service provider in the USA. The SBI issued Debit Card can be used at any ATM/Point of Sale terminal in the USA and anywhere around the world at ATMs/POS sporting MasterCard Logo. To begin with SBI plans to cover the ATM transaction costs for all of its users in the US and in India. "With these new features, namely, offering the ability to potential customers to operate their accounts with SBI from anywhere in the United States and cost-free transaction with three million ATMs, I am confident, we will be able to attract and maintain new customers," Kumar says with confidence, adding, "Think big and act prudently." "SBI-US is your best link to India with a 16,000+ branch network of State Bank Group and 10,000 ATM machines in India."  

[ BY AJAY GHOSH ]