Without a single doubt, SBI is THE biggest public sector bank in India, and if you look at the top banks by market cap, it is actually the 3rd largest overall bank in the country. Right now, with SBI, every factor is somewhat top-notch, like trust, total branches, number of customers, revenue, profits, and whatnot. But if you still have some doubts about how it is performing in 2025, then, sure enough, you should look at the SWOT Analysis of SBI (State Bank of India). That is precisely what we have prepared for you today, so let’s just get to it, then.
Strengths of SBI
- Government Support: First of all, yes, it is owned by the government, which adds trust, and that’s a big thing in India’s banking sector.
- Big Network: You must already be familiar with the fact that SBI quite literally has 22,500+ branches and 63,580+ ATMs all across the country, even in the most rural areas.
- Strong Finances: Every year, you can see that SBI generates tons of revenue (Revenue as of 2025: ₹5.24 lakh crore), and that results in huge profits as well.
- Digital Banking: It is the only bank that is being able to compete with big private banks like HDFC and ICICI in the digital banking segment, with the YONO app used by millions every single day.
- Global Presence: Sure, SBI needs to work on it a little more but still, it has offices in 31 countries, so that kinda counts as global presence.
- Risk Management: A great thing that makes SBI kinda different is that it uses smart systems to avoid big losses.
Weaknesses of SBI
- Old Systems: Well, this is kinda what SBI is famous for in a negative way, like they’re known to use old systems in their branches.
- Employee Attitude: Again, just like the previous point, the attitude of employees towards customers is kinda poor and rude, not often, but yes, that’s an issue.
- Heavy Staff Costs: Since there are too many employees (as many as 232,296 employees), no doubt, this results in higher salary expenses.
- Too Traditional: In the public’s eye, you see, it is seen as old-fashioned, especially by young people.
- Bureaucracy: Oh, since it is the biggest public sector bank, no doubt, decisions take longer due to red tape.
- Bad Loans (NPAs): Just like the rest of the public sector banks, SBI also faces issues with unpaid loans, aka bad loans.
Opportunities for SBI
- Go Digital: Well, SBI is already doing a good job at it, but still, if it invests more in mobile apps and online services, it can expand its reach to more customers.
- Hire Young Talent: If SBI wants to compete with big private players, no doubt, it needs to bring fresh ideas by hiring more young professionals.
- Rural Expansion: Well, as far as we know, it is the only bank that is already good at rural expansion, but still, this needs even more work.
- Go Global: This is something that can impact a lot and make it better at competing with private sector banks, but so far, it has only 249 branches in 29 countries.
- Cross-Selling: We have recently seen SBI try it out, so yes, if it offers multiple services to the same customer, there will be more revenue and profits down the line.
- Partner with Fintechs: While SBI is already involved in this, well, it can definitely work in the favour of the bank to come up with something innovative.
- Improve NRI Services: Since there are a huge number of NRIs, surely, SBI should focus more on serving Indians living abroad better.
Threats to SBI
- Private Banks: Well, from the point of view of customers, sure, competition is good, but for SBI and other public sector banks, the competition that HDFC, ICICI and other big banks present is kinda a concern.
- Changing Rules: Sure, SBI has government backing, still, RBI policy changes can affect SBI operations.
- Cyber Attacks: See, digital banking is a good thing, but the thing is, bad people, aka cyber criminals, are also real, and they’re a serious concern for the entire banking scene in the country.
- Fintech & Startups: Nowadays, new players are offering smarter services, and they’re becoming more relevant than the actual banks like SBI.
- Economic Problems: Banks can’t do much about it, but when slowdowns happen, they surely hurt loans and profits.
- Bad Reputation: It happened not many times with SBI, but still, it is a reality that one mistake or scam can damage trust.
- Foreign Banks: It is not just the Indian banks in the country; there are global banks offering advanced products.
- Customer Expectations: Nowadays, as you may already know, young users want quick, app-based service, so SBI needs to work a lot on that.
- Global Risks: Issues in other countries can affect overseas operations, and since SBI is working towards expanding its overseas reach, it is a big concern.
