SBI to shift 85% biz to core banking

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to shift about 85% of its total business transactions to the core banking solution (CBS) by the end of
the next fiscal.

This was announced by R N Ramanathan, deputy managing director (IT) of SBI, while talking to reporters today on the sidelines of the technology summit organised by Banknet India.

SBI would roll-out the core banking platform in 1,000 branches by March 2005, and would continue to extend the solution to other branches and associate banking entities, he said.

"With Basel II norms coming in, banks need to gear up activities to meet the requirements and enhance IT infrastructure," Ramanathan said.

Banks need to address issues like setting up of centralised IT infrastructure, designing customised software solutions, training personnel, business process re-engineering and ensuring seamless integration of multi-channel strategies, he added.