Pune branch of SBI to celebrate 140th anniversary on Oct 18

Pune, Oct 15 (UNI) State Bank of India's Pune branch, one of the oldest branch in the country, will organise a day-long cultural programme on October 18 to celebrate its 140 years of operation.

Addressing a press conference, Assistant General Manager of Pune branch Anuradha Kurma said, ''Pune branch came into operation in 1868, when SBI was known as Bank of Bombay. This long history makes an achievement as in the current scenario, the once iconic and towering international financial institutions are collapsing across the world.'' The State Bank of India was born with a sense of social welfare.

The bank was destined to lead the Indian Banking system for national development, Ms Kurma said. The bank will continue with the tradition of the past to meet the challenges of the new millennium, she added.

The bank is continuously reinventing itself to carry forward its great legacy inherited from the past. The SBI is the largest bank in the world in terms of branches, highest number of ATMs and a staff that outnumber any other bank in the world, she added.

UNI SP LY VKG2008