Sbi Hires Mckinsey After 5 Years

Global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co is revisiting State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest commercial bank, after a gap of five years.

Although the official version is that it is a "routine reality check", SBI insiders said the agency may help reposition the bank once again at a crucial juncture when the interest spread has become wafer-thin and competition is hot.

A McKinsey team has been camping at the SBI headquarters in Mumbai for over a fortnight, meeting senior executives. The bank is organising a conference of all chief general managers with the team to formally kick off the process later this week.

In 1995-96, McKinsey drafted the restructuring of SBI at the instance of the then chairman, Dipankar Basu. The consultancy firm focussed on faster decision-making by delayering the process and created new business units.