Beena Parmar Moneycontrol News
From April 1, the associate banks which will be merging with State Bank of India will sport the lender's signage and logo, with its iconic keyhole set against the background of inky blue.
There have been minor changes in the design and colour of SBI’s new look.
The background to the SBI signboard has been changed from white to “inky blue” while the SBI logo or the monogram as they call it is a few shades lighter than the existing blue.
On the design, “SBI” legend will be seen in white colour and will be written in a new font called Effra.
The designing and rebranding has been done by a company called Design Stack.
The move is part of the bank's larger goal to project a unified image, which will see all the five associate banks speaking the same language.
SBI has hired two agencies R K Swamy Bbdo and DDB Mudra to help with the campaigns.
The SBI logo symbolises its role of a custodian that will keep customers’ money safe.
The last time such a rebranding exercise was undertaken was in 1971, after the government nationalised banks under former Prime Minister's Indira Gandhi regime.
SBI's Managing Director Dinesh Kumar Khara in charge of associates, said, "We want to give a fresh look to SBI and from April 1, the rebranding will begin and the SBI boards will be put up on all branches of associate banks."
SBI will also launch ad campaigns on television and print.
The entire merger transition is likely to be completed in three months.
In February the government gave its final nod to merge five SBI associates - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) - with itself.
As per the Reserve Bank of India, all branches of the associate banks will function as branches of SBI from April 1, 2017.
Apart from the usual banking products, SBI's "new customers" will also be offered treasury products, wealth management services, digital products and other services which are currently only available to SBI customers.
However, the transition will also be met with its own challenges and hiccups.
Customers of associate banks are wary of missing out on personalised services offered because of its existing regional nature.
Apart from customers, about 1500 associate branches will be relocated and 10 percent of its offices would be shut. Employees also may face the brunt of relocation and transfer of roles.
Though SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya has assured of no layoffs, there could be some rationalisation in the work force.
Earlier this month, SBI offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for nearly 12,000 employees of associate banks. According to Khara, around 6,000 employees are expected to accept the offer, which will close on April 5.
The technology and customer transition processes will be closely monitored, Khara added.
The bank will also have to make smaller changes such as new passbooks, cheque books, stationery items, etc.
SBI’s merger with its associate banks will transform it into a banking behemoth making it to the top 50 banks in the world with its balance sheet increasing to Rs 42 lakh crore, over 277,000 employees, 24,000 branches and 500 million customers.
So from tomorrow, associate banks will also be "Banker to every Indian", as the SBI tagline goes.
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