Overseas acquisition might be considered by SBI

It has appeared that the State Bank of India, which is India's biggest lender, has opened its doors for overseas acquisitions, if in case there is synergy in business.
O P Bhatt, Chairman explained that if they meet an opportunity for foreign acquisition they will see it but it should fit in their environment, public sector culture, business, our clientele.
Bhatt further said that the bank has an enormous international network itself and also informed that presently its global operations contribute nearly 14 pct to the top line.
A hike by 54 per cent to Rs 86,267 crore was seen in the SBI's international credit portfolio during 2008-09, against Rs 56,196 crore in the previous year.
SBI had a network of 92 offshore offices spread over 32 countries covering all time zones at the end of March 2009.
It should be noted that 37 branches, five sub-offices, 8 representative offices, 35 branches of subsidiaries, three managed exchange companies and four joint ventures are included in the 92 offices.
Nine outlets were opened last fiscal by the bank along with its subsidiaries and joint ventures abroad. These outlets also had full-fledged retail operations, in Singapore.
Apart from this, it also launched three new branches and seven ATMs with the aim of enhancing retail operations in Singapore.
It network was added with one branch and a sub-office in Male and a representative office in Tianjin in China was made operational.