SBI grabs second card slot

Issues 10 lakh credit cards in as many months.

SBI Card, a joint venture between the State Bank of India (SBI) and US-based GE Money, issued 10 lakh cards in as many months to become the second largest credit card issuer in the country.

Buoyed by the success, the company plans to further accelerate the pace of growth by tapping consumers in Tier II cities.

"Our objective is to accelerate the pace of growth by extending the benefits of SBI Card to a broader range of consumers in Tier II cities along with improved value propositions for the urban affluent customers," said Roopam Asthana, CEO, SBI Card.

ICICI Bank is the market leader with over 50 lakh credit card users. Citibank, which was the market leader over a year ago, is at third spot with about 29 lakh credit card holders.

"Our association with Indian Railways, Lifestyle, LG, Go Air , Vishal Mega-Mart, Hero Honda and Tata for co-branded cards has been one of the major factors in our success and we look forward to forging more successful partnerships in the future," Asthana said.

SBI Card has increased its sourcing locations to 109 from 41 in 2002. In addition, the subsidiary of the country's largest bank is ramping up its sales force to 7,000 from 5,000 by December 2006 for increased productivity.

SBI Card said that it had seen an impressive compounded annual growth rate of 45 per cent on card spends since the year 2000.

In an effort to strengthen the brand and to drive strategic imperative of reaching out to younger and more urban customers, SBI Card recently signed up Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador and launched a special promotional campaign.

Nirupam Sahay, Vice President, Marketing, SBI Card, said that the special campaign saw spends on SBI cards increase by over 55 per cent in September-October.