Now, a centre for financial advisory services from SBI

State Bank of India (SBI) opened its first Financial Planning and Advisory Services centre in the country here on Tuesday. The bank now proposes to set up 50 such centres across the country.

The centre will provide various financial planning-related services like insurance planning, retirement planning and mutual fund advisory to investors in the city.

SBI had recently introduced 'Akshayapatram’, a specially designed advisory to help retiring employees manage their retirement benefits efficiently. Customers can also get details of 'Sunrise', a portfolio management scheme introduced by SBI Funds Management Limited, from the centre.

After the success of 'Rs 1 Bank' in Hyderabad, SBI is working to take this concept to rural Andhra Pradesh later this month for rural financial inclusion, SBI deputy managing director, Shiva Kumar, stated in a press release.

The advisory services centre was inaugurated by C Narasimhan, deputy managing director (corporate strategy and new businesses) at the bank’s Hyderabad main branch at Koti.

"The services are extremely relevant in the current context, given the many investment options that are available in the market, and considering the inherent complexities, the need for professional and trusted guidance in making the right choice cannot be over emphasised," he said.