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Name: Vishal Bahri
Company: State Bank of India (UK) Limited (SBI UK)
Job Title: Senior area manager
What does your company do? We are a bank regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our products and services include commercial lending, buy-to-let mortgages, cash ISAs, business instant access savings account and fixed deposits.
How did it all start? It started in 1806. Today SBI is an Indian multi-national, member of the Fortune 500 and the largest commercial bank in India, in terms of assets, deposits, branches, customers and employees. The government of India is the largest shareholder of the bank, holding a 57.13 per cent stake. It has more than 430 million customers worldwide, with offices in 32 countries.
What’s your greatest achievement so far? During my tenure in UK, I proposed and helped the bank to open an online channel for new customer acquisition, and today that is the biggest and most profitable channel for us.
What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken – and did it work out? My biggest risk was to move to UK from India almost 14 years back, without a job, connections and goodwill in the industry I aimed to work. The only thing I had was confidence in my capabilities. I landed a job within one month of landing, in my industry, and was able to scale up the business.
What keeps you awake at night? Dreams that I am working on.
If you could turn the clock back, what would you do differently? Spend more time with my family.
What has surprised you most in your job? I am surprised that how some other banks can take existing customers for granted and keep best deals for only new customers. We are one of the banks that rewards loyalty rather than punishing it.
What advice would you give to someone starting out? Believe in yourself and your capabilities. Do not let someone else’s negative experiences discourage you. Treat others the way you want to be treated yourself.
What exciting projects is your business working on? We are connecting with all the accountancy firms and solicitors in the Birmingham area and beyond to explore how we can work together to make local businesses more profitable.
What made you join Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and how are you making use of your membership? Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce is a platform that makes doing business easier and smoother. I get to see so many new connections every time I attend a networking event and there is an event almost every day. Requesting introductions to local businesses is another feature I am using more than previous years.
Tel: 0121 515 0400 February 2020 CHAMBERLINK 101
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