DIMAPUR, JUNE 28: As part of the commemoration of 210th anniversary of State Bank of India (SBI) which falls on July 1, the leading bank in the country on Tuesday organized a country-wide ‘town hall meeting’ in 600 locations in all the states of the country.
The ‘town hall meetings’ invited customers and participants to attend and share their “experiences and expectations” about the SBI’s banking ethos.
In Dimapur, the Assistant General Manager of the SBI’s Dimapur branch, Debojyoti Dutta addressed the event. In his opening remarks, he said that the SBI has had a long association with the people of Nagaland since the opening of the first SBI branch in the state way back in 1962. Over the subsequent years, the bank spread its wings to every nook and corner of Nagaland and had been trying its best to extend banking facilities to one and all.
Stating that customers have always been the focal point of the SBI, Dutta said that the interaction has provided another opportunity for the SBI staff and customers to interact with each other ‘for mutual benefit.’
Also, the chief manager for RBO, T Kalita, said that the meeting was aimed at informing and educating the public and customers about the various products and services provided by the SBI. He highlighted various products and services offered by the bank besides new products on the anvil.
During the occasion, a handful of SBI customers spoke about their experiences about banking with SBI and also gave views and suggestions. A customer from Medziphema lauded the bank for providing loan facilities such as the KCC and services loan, which he said had helped a lot of people. However, he commented on the complaints from customers that the bank staff were sometimes “authoritative and behave like administrators.”
“We expect the bank staff to be more polite and cooperative to the customers”, he added.
The secretary of the Dimapur District Pensioners’ Association Secretary, Shanpan Lotha, urged the branch’s managers to assist the association during payment of monthly pension. Lotha said that the state government had issued ID cards for pensioners and the association on its part has also been issuing certificates purportedly in order to eliminate “fake or ghost” pensioners.
Another SBI client requested the bank’s officials to ensure timely crediting of pension benefits.
According to a SBI handout given to customers and members of the media during the occasion, the “SBI delivers and delights 27 crore Indians through 1.28 lac touch points, 16,500 branches, 55,000 ATMs ans 57,000 customer service points.”
The bank has also 2.20 Crore internet banking and 1.35 crore mobile banking users.
