State Bank of India - History and Operations

The State Bank of India was constituted on July 1, 1955, following the passing of the State Bank of India Act, 1955.

As the State Bank of India was created by an Act of Parliament, any amendments to the State Bank of India Act must be passed by the Parliament of India.

The authorized capital of the State Bank of India was set at Rs 1 crore under the original State Bank of India Act, 1955.

The paid-up capital of the State Bank of India at its inception was Rs 5.625 crore, but historical records often cite Rs 526.3 crore in the context of specific financial reporting periods.

The Imperial Bank of India, which was acquired to form SBI, was itself the result of the amalgamation of the Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay, and Bank of Madras in 1921.

At the time of the nationalization and subsequent reorganization, there were 7 associate banks (State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Saurashtra, and State Bank of Travancore).

None of the banks listed (Miraj State Bank, Karnataka State Bank, Benaras State Bank) were among the seven official Associate Banks of SBI.

The State Bank of Saurashtra, which was an associate bank of SBI before its merger, had its headquarters in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

State Bank of Bangalore (correctly known as State Bank of Mysore) and State Bank of Ahmedabad were not among the seven official associate banks. State Bank of Saurashtra was an associate bank.

SBI Commercial and International Bank Ltd. was incorporated as a subsidiary of SBI and commenced its operations on January 31, 1994.

State Bank of Bombay was never an associate bank; the others listed (Bikaner & Jaipur, Travancore) were official associate banks.

In 1991, the Reserve Bank of India directed the State Bank of India to take over the Indian branches of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) following its global collapse.

SBI Home Finance was promoted by SBI Capital Markets Ltd. and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

The Reserve Bank of India held a majority stake in the State Bank of India, which was 59.73% before the stake was transferred to the Government of India in 2007.

SBI Funds Management Ltd. is the asset management company (AMC) for the SBI Mutual Fund. It is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Amundi.

The State Bank of India traces its origins to the Bank of Calcutta, which was established on 2 June 1806. By 2 June 2006, the bank had completed 200 years of existence.

As of March 31, 2006, the State Bank of India had a target of 75 foreign branches to expand its international presence. This was part of its strategic growth plan during that period.

During the mid-2000s, the State Bank of India underwent a massive technological transformation, reaching a milestone of 5000 branches under its Centralised Banking Solution (CBS) by the specified timeframe.

SBI European Bank Ltd. (SEBAL) was indeed a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI, started operations in March 1993, and was headquartered in London to facilitate European banking services.

State Bank of Patiala was the first among the associate banks of the State Bank of India to successfully network all its branches under the Centralised Banking Solution (CBS).

The State Bank of India entered into a bancassurance agreement with New India Assurance Company Ltd. to market their non-life insurance products through the bank's branch network.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) historically held the majority stake in the State Bank of India, which was later transferred to the Government of India to avoid conflict of interest between the regulator and the regulated entity.

 SBI DFHI Ltd. is a subsidiary of State Bank of India to transact in Govt. securities.