India's largest public sector bank to start wealth management business

India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) is set to venture into the wealth management business and financial planning services to cash in on its extensive branch network and large client base. "We are currently running this service on a pilot basis and roll out through select branches across important cities and town would be done soon," said a senior official at SBI.
The bank has about 12,000 branches across India and has over 14 crore account holders spread across every region of the country. The business would mean additional fee income for the bank, the official said, adding that SBI has started talent hunt for the specialized service, according to PTI.
According to the official, the service would be targeted towards the middle income group, because many large players are already present to provide services to high net-worth individuals. No bank or wealth managers are providing advisory to middle income group so there is a great opportunity for the bank, the official added.
The official said the SBI branches will depute financial planners to approach account holders with over Rs. 5 lakh in their account, to ascertain whether the financial strategy adopted by the customer is correct or not. The planner will also help the customer plan cash flows, income and expenses and also firm up financial goals with specific target dates.
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