The State Bank of India (SBI), the nation's largest public sector bank, declared on Tuesday that it accounts for 1.1% of the world's GDP and 16% of the GDP of India. The bank also gained more than a quarter of the market share in rolling out government-supported social security schemes.
Through the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), SBI has helped open 15 crore bank accounts. It also enrolled 14.6 crore people in the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), 6.7 crore in the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and 1.73 crore under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
During the financial year 2024–25, SBI has registered 40% of the combined profit earned by all the public sector banks, and 2.53% of corporate income tax returns for the assessment year 2025–26, as per official data.
Having a customer base of over 52 crore, SBI now has more customers than the total population of the US, effectively becoming the third most populous 'country' in the world. Furthermore, the bank's balance sheet is larger than that of 175 countries' GDP," the bank said.
As SBI celebrates its 70th anniversary, its balance sheet has grown to a whopping ₹66 lakh crore, solidifying its financial supremacy.
The bank's digital presence is also robust, with its YONO app exceeding 8.8 crore registrations. SBI claims that based on this base, YONO by itself could be the world's 18th most densely populated country.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated the bank on its centenary anniversary.
"With over 23,000 branches, 78,000 Customer Service Points (CSPs), and 64,000 ATMs, SBI’s footprint today is formidable and it is truly the Banker to every Indian. The digital transformation it has achieved in the last decade has been immensely beneficial to its customers," she stated in a message posted on X.
The Finance Minister also identified SBI's role in empowering the farmers and small entrepreneurs, stating that the bank has empowered 1.5 crore farmers, 1.3 crore women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs), 32 lakh street vendors under the PM SVANidhi scheme, 23 lakh MSMEs, and many artisans through various financial programs.
On the technology side, SBI Mutual Fund — India's leading asset management company — launched 'SBIMF SmartAssist', an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot on WhatsApp, on Tuesday.
The virtual help is designed to make investing in mutual funds easier by allowing users to learn, invest, and manage their portfolios through a chat-based interface on the widely popular messaging application.
"Through the launch of SmartAssist – our AI-driven WhatsApp chatbot, we are taking the power of AI to our investors directly, making investing in mutual funds simpler and more accessible. This is an important step towards improving investor experience and embracing tech for growth and efficiency," said SBI Mutual Fund MD and CEO Nand Kishore.
