SBI Celebrates 66th Foundation Day

SBI, State Bank of India, is celebrating its 66th bank day today. It was on this day, July 1, 1955, the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India after the Reserve Bank of India, which is India’s central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. SBI is India’s premier commercial bank and played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s economy.

History of SBI

In the 19th century, three presidency banks were incorporated. The three presidency banks were the Bank of Madras (established on 2nd June 1806), the Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840), and the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July 1843). These three presidency banks were joint-stock companies. These presidency banks were consolidated on 27 January 1921 and the new entity was named Imperial Bank of India. Even after the consolidation, it remained as the joint-stock company but without government participation. RBI in 1955 acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. On 1st July 1955, the imperial bank of India became the State Bank of India. To avoid any conflict of interest since RBI is the country’s banking regulatory authority, the government of India in 2008 then acquired the Reserve Bank of India’s stake in SBI.