I have been a mere spectator of the inefficiency and gross mismanagement of many Indian institutions till the market was thrown open to the world in 1991. More than their mismanagement it was their apathy towards customers that irked me the most. State Bank of India (SBI) is a top contender in this list of struggling institutions.
I have been their customer in three different branches in three different states and during different stages of my life till now. SBI was more of a compulsion than a choice.
Before the advent of world class international banks in India, SBI was the ’King’ in banking. Not for its superior services but beacuse of lack of competition. In the last
couple of years I have seen tremendous change in their attitude and services. But that is not an honest and sincere attempt to change but to woo their customers from joining their competitors.
The Good: State Bank of India is one of the oldest and largest commercial bank in India. Three banks were amalgamated (Bank of Calcutta, Bank of Madras and Bank of Bombay) to form the State Bank of India in 1955. It has the largest assets, branches, deposits and the most profitable bank in India. It has branches in almost all major cities, towns and villages of India. Being the oldest commercial bank it played a vital role in the post independent era in the development of the country. It ran various schemes to benefit each section of the society, even the NRIs(Non Residential Indians). It offers loan for a wide range of activities. The minimum fixed deposit is very low and opening an account is very simple and easy. They also have international banking especially for the Indians abroad.
The Bad: SBI could not carry the mantle of being the oldest and most profitable bank with the responsibility that such a status demands. They gloated on their monopoly, and their internal politics and beurocracy only made them more complacent. They paid no heed to customer relation management(CRM) and their changing needs.
When I was a student I had an account in my local branch in Badnera, close to my college. After my graduation I requested my banker, 4 days in advnace, to close my account as I would be returning back to Goa( more than 800 Kms from my college). On the final day he refused, saying that they don’t have staff to do that. So it will be closed later. But when I pesuaded that I want it closed today and that I need my money, he flatly said that he wont do it and if I want my money I should come on some other day! Well thats different that, finally the manager came in, (after I lied to him that my father is GM in the head office!), and closed my account...and trust me it took less than 5 minutes to do that!
Frequent strikes , sometime it would last for days, results in huge financial losses to the government and business. Strikes are sudden and for petty issues most of the time.
There also seem to be lack of co-ordination between different branches in and out of a state.
Although they pretend to be fast adopting the modern day banking infrastructure but they are far from international standards. First of all not all branches are connected to the main(central) server even in cities like Bombay! ATM, credit and debit cards are a previlidge, issued to few and after a long time. I was asked to wait for three months to get an ATM card! I dont even know if they issue debit cards. HSBC does that on the same day!
Even small things like bank timing can mean a lot of business. SBI is closed on Sunday. HSBC is open on Sunday and closed on Thursday. Many of my friends and colleagues switched to HSBC just because Sunday is the only day they can visit banks. Punctuality is an alien term in SBI. My college branch will usually open an hour late and close half an hour earlier!
SBI could have changed the face of the Indian economy had it work with vision and higher standards. Due to their large network they could have made banking easier and convenient. They could have made credit cards common and an important mode of payment. This would have supported the fast growing IT industry. Many a dot coms would have survived, but they died a lonely death just because they depended on credit cards for their mode of payment.They are either overstaff or understaff, but rarely the right number. Their employees lack modern day bank training and not well aversed with national and international banking rules.
Requests to speed up work are only greeted with cold stare and bitter comments!
In my school days I learned a rhyme ’’fairies learn to dance before they learn to walk’’ but SBI thought that dancing was unneccessary until HSBC came and bewitched the Indian customers with their new tunes and steps.
SBI is now taking dance classes! What an opportunity messed!