Mumbai: State Bank of India, SBI, new chairman Rajnish Kumar has asked in a letter to bank's 2,68,705 strong staff to maintain "highest standard of ethics" and also make available "courteous services" to customers, according to a report on IANS.
On Saturday, Kumar replaced Arundhati Bhattacharya as chairman of country's largest public sector lender. Bhattacharya was given a one year's extension in 2016 to facilitate merger of SBI sister banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
In a two-and-a-half page long missive, Kumar highlights the worst phase the banking sector is passing through right now with a bad loan in the range of Rs 6-8 lakh crore to clear.
"But, let's face it, that, right now, banking industry is passing through very tough times. This is happening worldwide. India has also not escaped the tremors," Rajnish Kumar warned.
He went on to suggest some ways to tackle various challenges ahead and asked SBI's employees particularly those at frontline to be "the face of the bank". Kumar has exhorted them to be polite with customers and expand network of loyal customers.
The RBI has identified as many as 55 non-performing assets, NPAs, and has allowed banks for starting insolvency proceedings against them. The worst crisis that the banking sector is staring at right now is mainly due to the huge amount of bad loan, stressed assets and NPAs.
