SBI chief asks staff to be ethical, courteous

Mumbai, Oct 9: Warning of challenges ahead, State Bank Of India's new Chairman Rajnish Kumar has called upon all the 268,705 employees to maintain the highest standards of ethics and provide courteous services to customers.

In a two-and-half page long letter to each employee this week, he said that in its 211-year old history, the SBI has gone from strength to strength and faced challenges.

"But, let's face it, that, right now, banking industry is passing through very tough times. This is happening worldwide. India has also not escaped the tremors," Rajnish Kumar warned.

Despite the grit, fortitude, hard work and resilience, the SBI also could not stay insulated from the unfavourable macro conditions, especially in a highly-interconnected world and economic environment, pointed out the SBI chief who took over the reins of the country's biggest PSB on Saturday