SBI to take YONO to US, looks at 5% loan growth in global operations

Its global loan book had expanded by 7.44 per cent YoY till the end of June 2023

The country's largest lender, State Bank of India, plans to scale up digital app YONO's overseas presence from the current nine countries to 13, including the United States, in the next 12 months at places where the bank has a retail presence.

C S Setty, managing director (International Banking, Global Markets & Technology) of SBI, on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest, said the increase in global presence would happen in tandem with the roll-out of YONO's 2.0 version. The details about which features are to be included in the international arena are being worked out.

The plan is to roll out in New York, Chicago, Singapore, and Oman. While the entire YONO 2.0 version would be functional by the end of the financial year (FY24), some modules would be added before that, said another SBI executive.

According to the SBI annual report for FY23, YONO Global app has expanded the digital footprint across geographies and streamlined the user experience. The app has been rolled out in the UK, Maldives, Mauritius, Canada, Bahrain, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

Referring to business growth in international operations, Setty said term loans from local businesses and trade finance are showing higher traction.

However, the External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) loan offtake from Indian corporates remained weak, as domestic fund-raising is cheaper than overseas markets, he added. The borrower has to factor in exchange risks in addition to interest rates while raising money from international markets.

The bank is looking at 4-5 per cent growth (in dollar terms) in the international loan book, Setty added.

Its global loan book had expanded by 7.44 per cent year-on-year till the end of June 2023.