State Bank of India (SBI) is looking to aggressively grow its business in Odisha through lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and expansion of branches.

The Odisha circle aims to account for 3% of SBI’s total balance sheet by FY25, up from its current 2.72%.The growth target for this fiscal and in FY24 is 25% 

“Odisha accounts for around 2.6% of India’s GDP. With our present growth plans, the Odisha circle’s contribution in SBI’s total balance sheet should be around 3% by FY25,” SBI chief general manager Chander Shekhar Sharma told www.indianbankingnews.com.

SBI is looking to lend Rs 678 crore to ethanol projects set up in Odisha. The bank will also be part of a consortium of lenders to fund Rs 110 crore for an ethanol plant in the state.

“We have sourced six proposals for funding ethanol plants in Cuttack, Bargarh, Sundargarh and Boudh districts of Odisha with proposed loan exposure of Rs 678 crore,”  Sharma said.

Several ethanol plants are coming up in Odisha, including that of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). The Union government has set up a target of 20% blending of fuel-grade ethanol with petrol by 2025. The plan is to enhance ethanol production capacity in the country.

SBI also sees big lending opportunities to SMEs in the aluminium sector. The state expects manufacturing units to spring up with Vedanta setting up an aluminium park in Jharsuguda. The downstream units will draw molten aluminium from Vedanta’s smelter at Jharsuguda to manufacture their products. The finished products will be lifted by Vedanta. 

“The Vedanta Aluminium Park will have a backward and forward integration model and we are looking to fund these SMEs,” said Sharma. 

Spread over 253 acres, the Vedanta Aluminium Park, delayed for years, is set to be one of India’s largest metal parks. Vedanta’s aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda has a capacity of 1.75 million tonnes per annum. 

A leading player in Odisha, SBI is looking to increase its market share in advances to 30% and deposits to 40% in the state. Currently, the bank has a market share of 25% in advances and 37% in deposits. On the deposit front, the bank has 30% market share in current accounts and 44% in savings accounts.

At the end of December 2022, the Odisha circle’s contribution to the total balance sheet of SBI is 2.72% with loan outstanding at Rs 46,642 crore. The home loan portfolio stood at Rs 9,134 crore while gold loans amounted to Rs 1,884 crore. The credit-to-deposit ratio is at 62.03%.

“We are targeting to improve our deposit share to 40% and credit to 30% in the state by the end of March 2026,” said Sharma.

SBI has decided to add 30 branches across the state, with 28 of them being in the financially excluded areas. The total number of branches in the state will touch 915. 

“Chief minister Naveen Patnaik is looking to cover the unbanked areas in the state and has promised to provide us the necessary infrastructure like internet connectivity and roads to reach these branches. We have already opened a branch in Kadalmetla, a small hamlet in Malkangiri district, in the last week of December,” said Sharma.

SBI is funding a slew of economic activities like hydroponics, shrimp cultivation, poultry and cage fish farming in the state.

“Odisha is presently dependent on Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh for its poultry needs. On account of demand in the market, the activity is viable in the state,” said Sharma. 

The bank will soon launch wealth management services and add about 600 customer service points in the state.