The State Bank of India opened its first remittance centre here on Sunday. The move is being seen as a prelude to the entry by India’s largest bank into the retail banking sector here.
According to media reports, the new centre will not only cater to the non-resident Indians here, it will also target other South Asians and people from other countries like the Philippines. There are over 300,000 NRIs and persons of Indian origin in Singapore.
"It’s not going to be only for remittance to India. We are planning to provide services for people from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even the Philippines. We also have plans to tie up with other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries," a report in the Today newspaper quoted SBI Singapore’s chief executive P.K. Malhotra as saying.
Though SBI already has an offshore banking operation here, a part of its 67 offices and branches spread over 29 countries across the globe, it has applied only now for qualifying full bank status, which will allow it to enter the retail banking sector. If it gets the green signal, it can open as many as 25 customer service locations, the report said.
Other Indian banks like the Indian Overseas Bank and the UCO Bank have been operating in Singapore for a long time now and their remittance centres cater to Indian workers only.
According to media reports, the new centre will not only cater to the non-resident Indians here, it will also target other South Asians and people from other countries like the Philippines. There are over 300,000 NRIs and persons of Indian origin in Singapore.
"It’s not going to be only for remittance to India. We are planning to provide services for people from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even the Philippines. We also have plans to tie up with other South Asian and Southeast Asian countries," a report in the Today newspaper quoted SBI Singapore’s chief executive P.K. Malhotra as saying.
Though SBI already has an offshore banking operation here, a part of its 67 offices and branches spread over 29 countries across the globe, it has applied only now for qualifying full bank status, which will allow it to enter the retail banking sector. If it gets the green signal, it can open as many as 25 customer service locations, the report said.
Other Indian banks like the Indian Overseas Bank and the UCO Bank have been operating in Singapore for a long time now and their remittance centres cater to Indian workers only.