SBI’s C.S. Setty: Excellence at Scale, Without Losing Sight of Inclusion
With State Bank of India being named World’s Best Consumer Bank for the second consecutive year, Chairman C.S. Setty discusses serving 530 million customers at scale, the evolution of YONO, and the bank’s enterprise approach to responsible AI. The post SBI’s C.S. Setty: Excellence at Scale, Without Losing Sight of Inclusion appeared first on Global Finance Magazine .
C.S. Setty, the Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), spoke with Global Finance after the bank was honored as the World's Best Consumer Bank for the second consecutive year. SBI serves an impressive 530 million customers through 23,000 branches and over 160,000 touchpoints across India. The challenge lies in delivering excellence and consistency to millions of people, with transaction volumes reaching hundreds of millions daily.
Inclusion is a crucial aspect of SBI's strategy. Around 170 million customers have joined the banking system with zero-balance accounts, many of whom have become regular savers. Maintaining efficiency while keeping inclusion at the forefront is what Setty believes sets SBI apart.
A significant part of SBI's strategy is digital banking. The "You Only Need One" (YONO) app consolidates banking, investments, insurance, mutual funds, and pension products into a single platform. With 100 million registered users and 20 to 30 million daily active users, maintaining consistent performance is crucial. SBI aims to make YONO accessible to underserved customers, regardless of their location, needs, or device.
The platform is omnichannel, available in branches, through net banking, and on mobile, with Setty's goal being to serve customers at the lowest possible cost.
In the realm of artificial intelligence (AI), SBI is developing an enterprise-level AI stack instead of isolated use cases. The bank started by re-engineering operating processes to make them more automated and then layered AI on top. Having built conventional AI and machine learning models, SBI is now progressing toward Generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI. Setty emphasizes responsible AI practices, backed by a strong policy framework and model management, given the bank's size and diverse customer base.
Setty highlights three priorities for AI implementation:
1. For employees, AI should streamline processes and boost productivity, deploying people where they are most needed instead of replacing them.
2. For customers, AI should create seamless, frictionless experiences in the mobile app and self-service channels.
3. For fraud prevention, where SBI already monitors millions of transactions daily with conventional models, agentic AI could prove to be a powerful tool.
In summary, C.S. Setty sees SBI's success in becoming the World's Best Consumer Bank as a testament to its ability to provide excellent service at scale while maintaining a focus on inclusion. The bank's strategy involves digital banking, AI, and a customer-centric approach, all aimed at delivering consistent performance and efficiency while keeping costs low.
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