SBI launches its first dedicated branch for start-ups in Bengaluru

State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday announced the launch of its first "state-of-the-art" dedicated branch for start-ups in the country here, to facilitate and support them.

The branch launched by SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara is located in Koramangala, which alongside neighbouring HSR Layout and Indiranagar are the biggest start-up hubs in the city.

"...Overall we are in a position to provide end-to-end services to start-ups, with that in mind this particular start-up branch is the first start-up branch we are starting, from the capital city of start-ups- Bengaluru. I'm sure it will further enhance the start-up potential," Khara said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, based on the experience which the bank gathers from here, it will keenly evaluate the opportunity that exists in other cities for such a start-up initiative.

"After Bengaluru, the next branch we will be opening in Gurgaon and third one will be in Hyderabad- these are the three locations where start-up activities are there and we will be covering them....We will do it in next six months," he added.

Further stating that SBI has already funded 104 start-ups through the debt route, Khara in response to a question said, "cumulatively it should be aggregating to Rs 250 crore."

Stating that the bank has some equity allocations, which is both for listed and unlisted space, he said, "it is not specifically for start-ups, it is for both space, which is as per RBI regulated norms. We have already done some investment, it is over all around Rs 5,000 to 6,000 crore."

According to SBI, the branch would act as a hub with various stakeholders assisting in providing solutions acting as spokes and supporting the hub branch in enabling the start ups to avail end-to-end financial and advisory services.

It will leverage the large presence of the bank in the market by bringing the synergy among all the entities and various departments of the State Bank group to offer one-stop solution to these corporates and start-ups starting from the formation of the entity till IPOs and FPOs of the companies.

Noting that the branch will serve as the vital 'go-to-place' for meeting any business needs emanating from the start-up ecosystem, officials said, besides the banking services, the branch would also have specialist teams for capital markets assisting in equity raise and registration facilities.

The branch will also house specialist officers for the forex, treasury solutions, wealth management and credit needs of the start-ups, they said, adding that the bank's subsidiaries like mutual funds and custodial services would also be partnering in the initiative.

The branch would support the needs of the entire start-up ecosystem. Besides the start-ups themselves, the branch would also be catering to all the requirements of the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds and the Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).

The branch has also entered into MOUs with the government of Karnataka initiatives like Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to support the entire start-up ecosystem in the state of Karnataka.