On Monday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that measures must be taken to make bank interest rates more reasonable since they cause a great deal of stress for some individuals. The Union Finance Minister reassured that the government is well aware of the local and global issues amid widespread fears about a potential slowdown in economic development, adding that there is no cause for “undue concerns.”

“When you look at India’s growth requirements, you can hear a lot of different voices saying that borrowing is really stressful and that bank interest rates need to be much more affordable at a time when we want industries to ramp up and move to build capacities,” Sitharaman stated.

Speaking at SBI’s annual business and economic colloquium, the minister also urged banks to focus on their primary duty of providing loans, adding that “misselling” insurance products also indirectly raises borrowing costs for an organization.

In FY25, SBI plans to establish 500 additional branches.

The Finance Minister said that SBI plans to establish 500 more branches by the end of FY25, bringing its total network to 23,000. Sitharaman remembered that the bank’s size has grown significantly since 1921, when three presidency banks amalgamated to become the Imperial Bank of India (IBI), during a celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the state-owned lender’s main branch in Mumbai. What was a network of 250 branches in 1921 has now expanded to 22,500, she added, after the government approved an Act of Parliament in 1955 to create SBI from what was formerly IBI.

“SBI now has 22,500 branches, and I’ve been informed that a further 500 will open in FY25. 23,000 branches, therefore,” Sitharaman informed them.

The finance minister said that SBI’s expansion should set a “global record,” especially considering how often India is “taunted” by its wealth inequality. According to her, SBI services more than 50 crore clients and has a 22.4% share of all deposits in the nation, or about one-fifth of all deposits. According to Sitharaman, the bank’s digital investments are strong and capable of processing up to 20 crore UPI transactions daily.

Sitharaman said that one of the declared goals of the century-old consolidation exercise was to provide banking services to people, and that this is far removed from the goal of the merging of three presidential banks in 1921.