State Bank of India Wins the Dun & Bradstreet – Polaris Financial Technology Banking Awards 2014

State Bank of India is honoured with the Dun & Bradstreet – Polaris Financial Technology Banking Awards 2014 in the Best Public Sector Bank – Retail, Best Public Sector Bank - Rural Reach, Best Public Sector Bank - Technology Adoption categories. 

Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), the world’s leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight, announced and presented the ‘Dun & Bradstreet – Polaris Financial Technology Banking Awards 2014’ in Mumbai.  The occasion also marked the launch of the eighth edition of D&B India’s study on ‘India’s Top Banks 2014’ by former Union Finance Minister, Shri Yashwant Sinha, .

Speaking about the awards, Mr. J. N. Misra, Deputy Managing Director & Corporate Development Officer, State Bank of India said, “This is a remarkable achievement. We are honored as well as humbled. Retail banking is a focused area at this moment and we will continue to do good work for in this sector. Technology is the backbone of SBI as our business model is driven by technology. We have recently set up sbiINTOUCH which is technology driven and is a new experience for the Indian banking sector. We will use different technology tools as we move forward”.

Delivering the welcome address, Mr. Kaushal Sampat, President & CEO – India, Dun & Bradstreet said, “Although the worst is behind us, FY14 turned out to be a year of uncertainty with the economy failing to reach the expected recovery level. However, it is encouraging for all of us to remember that timely measures have always helped the banking industry to increase its resilience. For example, measures to promote lending to priority sectors seem to have yielded the much desired results. Priority Sector lending saw 28% growth in FY14, nearly double that of the prior year. Given the strong linkages between the economy and banks, we are confident that with a stable economy in the near future, the prospects of the banking industry seem strong.”

Speaking at the awards, Shri Yashwant Sinha, Former Union Finance Minister said, “I compliment Dun & Bradstreet and Polaris Financial Technology for producing this publication – which will serve as a useful reference point for stakeholders in the country as well as across the globe. I also congratulate the leaders and the staff of various banks, since it is their efforts that reflect in the success of respective banks.”

About State Bank of India

State Bank of India (SBI), with a 208 year history, is the largest commercial bank in India in terms of assets, deposits, profits, branches, consumers and employees. The Government of India is the single largest shareholder of this Fortune 500 entity with 58.60% ownership.

The origins of State Bank of India date back to 1806 when the Bank of Calcutta (later called the Bank of Bengal) was established. In 1921, the Bank of Bengal and two other banks (Bank of Madras and Bank of Bombay) were amalgamated to form the Imperial Bank of India. In 1955, the Reserve Bank of India acquired the controlling interests of the Imperial Bank of India and SBI was created by an Act of Parliament to succeed the Imperial Bank of India.

The State Bank Group consists of SBI and five associate banks. The group has an extensive network; with over 20,000 plus branches in India and another 190 foreign offices spread over 36 countries across the world. As of 31st March 2014, the group had assets worth Rs. 23,95,981 crores, deposits of Rs. 18,38,852 Crores and capital & reserves in excess of Rs. 1,47,371 crores. The group commands over 23% share of the domestic Indian banking market.

About Dun & Bradstreet (D&B):

Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB), the world's leading source of global business information, knowledge and insight, has been enabling companies to Decide with Confidence® for over 174 years.  D&B's global commercial database contains more than 230 million business records. The database is enhanced by D&B's proprietary DUNSRight® Quality Process, which transforms the enormous amount of data collected daily into decision-ready insight. Through the D&B Worldwide Network -an unrivaled alliance of D&B and leading business information providers around the world customers gain access to the world's largest and highest quality global commercial business information database.

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