For over two decades, Kolkata has witnessed a steady decline in its significance in the business operations of the State Bank of India (SBI), a trend that has raised serious economic concerns. Several key offices of the country’s largest public sector bank have been systematically relocated from the city.
Now, sources reveal that SBI’s international marketing division, the Global Marketing Unit (GMU), is set to be moved from Kolkata to Mumbai, further diminishing the city's economic role in national banking operations.
The GMU plays a crucial role in handling SBI’s foreign exchange trading and the reconciliation of international transactions. If relocated, it would mark another blow to Kolkata’s banking and financial ecosystem, which has already suffered from multiple office shifts.
Previously, SBI had transferred its foreign exchange trading division, the Central Accounts Office, Corporate Office, and the Central Stationery Department from Kolkata.
The civic platform ‘Bank Bachao Desh Bachao’ has strongly opposed this decision and has written to President Droupadi Murmu, urging intervention to prevent the move.
Soumya Dutta, former General Secretary of the All India Bank Confederation (AIBC), and Vishwaranjan Roy, former General Secretary of the Indian Bank Officers Association, jointly said, “SBI had planned to shift GMU earlier, and now we have credible information that this plan is finally being executed. Former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya had previously ensured that GMU’s back-office functions were relocated to Kolkata, benefiting the state’s financial sector.”
The relocation of GMU is expected to have direct financial consequences for West Bengal. If the unit moves to Mumbai, West Bengal will lose out on this substantial tax income. Additionally, around 70 temporary employees working in GMU’s Kolkata office face job insecurity due to the proposed shift.
Dutta said despite SBI’s profitability in Kolkata, key divisions have been consistently moved out of the city over the last 24 years. “The foreign exchange department was relocated in 2000, the Central Stationery Department in 1991, and the corporate office was shifted to Mumbai by 2017. These moves have led to a gradual weakening of Kolkata’s financial sector, affecting both direct employment and the broader economic landscape,” he added.
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