Sarkari Banks Take To Glamourous Openings

Yesterday, danseuse and Bollywood star Hema Malini was invited to be the chief guest at the inaugural of the personal banking branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) at Juhu in Mumbai.

And the star did not disappoint the bankers present. "I have been a customer of this bank for several years. I do hope that the new branch would be able to serve its customers well," she said. Incidentally, her brother was with the SBI.

The bank officials said Hema Malini was not invited to promote the SBI brand. "She is one of our valued customers," said one SBI executive.

 

Inviting film stars to grace branch inaugurations is slowly picking up. Some time back, Amitabh Bachchan opened a Central Bank of India branch in Mumbai. And yes, the 'Big B', who was later dragged into court cases for non-payment of bank dues was a Central Bank customer.

Bank of Baroda once invited another Bollywood star, Padmini Kolhapure, to grace the occasion of a corporate customers meet.

Glamour seems to be an interesting input when the banking industry is on the threshold of shifting its focus from just lending and borrowing to satisfying the needs of the customer.

The competition between the private and public sector banks now encompasses the number and quality of instruments and services offered , and also includes the attitude and image of the bank.

Stiff competition seems to also have changed the attitude of these banks. Public sector banks are focussing on financial boutiques -- and not branches -- to cater to special high networth customers. They are also shifting from the concept of 'mass banking' to 'class banking'.

Said one senior banker: "Celebrity endorsements of banking products is not new. The new thing is perhaps the presence of film stars at the branches."

Sunil Gavaskar was present at the function of the launch of the SBI credit card and Sachin Tendulkar's Visa power is too well-known by this time.