SBI History Questions for SBI PO

The Origin: Bank of Calcutta to Imperial Bank

SBI's story begins in 1806 when the Bank of Calcutta was established — the first joint-stock bank in British India. It was renamed Bank of Bengal in 1809. Two more presidency banks followed: Bank of Bombay in 1840 and Bank of Madras in 1843. These three presidency banks were merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India, which acted as a quasi-central bank before the RBI was set up in 1935.

• Bank of Calcutta founded: 1806 — first bank in the series
• Renamed Bank of Bengal: 1809
• Bank of Bombay: 1840, Bank of Madras: 1843
• Three presidency banks merged into Imperial Bank of India: 1921
• Imperial Bank served as banker to the government before RBI existed

Birth of SBI: Nationalisation in 1955

Following independence, India needed a state-owned bank to support rural credit and planned economic development. The Imperial Bank of India was nationalised on 1 July 1955 under the State Bank of India Act, 1955, and renamed the State Bank of India. The RBI initially held majority stake. This date, 1 July, is now celebrated as SBI Foundation Day every year. SBI's corporate headquarters is located in Mumbai (State Bank Bhavan).

• SBI Act passed: 1955, effective from 1 July 1955
• Imperial Bank nationalised and renamed SBI
• RBI held majority stake initially (later transferred to Government of India)
• SBI Foundation Day: 1 July every year
• Headquarters: State Bank Bhavan, Mumbai

Associate Banks and Subsidiaries

After SBI was formed, seven associate banks came under its umbrella via the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959. These were former princely state banks rebranded as SBI associates. Over decades, some were merged earlier, and the remaining five associates plus Bharatiya Mahila Bank were merged into SBI on 1 April 2017, making SBI one of the top 50 banks in the world by assets.

• Subsidiary Banks Act: 1959 — brought 7 associate banks under SBI
• Original associates included State Bank of Patiala, Bikaner and Jaipur, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, Indore, Saurashtra
• State Bank of Indore and Saurashtra merged earlier (before 2017)
• Mega merger on 1 April 2017: 5 remaining associates plus Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged into SBI
• Post-merger SBI entered global top 50 banks list

Key Firsts and Recent Milestones

SBI holds several historic firsts in Indian banking. It launched the first ATM network in India, pioneered internet banking, and introduced YONO (You Only Need One) — its digital banking super-app launched in 2017. SBI became the first Indian bank to cross Rs 1 lakh crore in net profit in FY2024. SBI is also India's largest lender by assets, deposits, branches and employees.

• YONO app launched: 2017 — digital banking and lifestyle platform
• SBI crossed Rs 1 lakh crore net profit milestone: FY2024
• Largest bank in India by assets, deposits, branches (22,000+ branches)
• Largest employer in Indian banking sector
• SBI Cards and Payment Services is a listed subsidiary (IPO in 2020)
• SBI Life Insurance and SBI Mutual Fund are major non-banking subsidiaries

Chairpersons and Governance

SBI is governed by a Chairman appointed by the Government of India in consultation with RBI. The current Chairman (as of 2024-25) is Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, who took charge in August 2024. Knowing the current and one or two recent Chairpersons is important for current affairs questions. SBI's Managing Directors assist the Chairman and handle specific verticals.

• Chairman appointed by Government of India, approved by RBI
• Current Chairman: Challa Sreenivasulu Setty (from August 2024)
• Previous Chairman: Dinesh Kumar Khara (2020-2024)
• SBI is a listed public sector bank — traded on BSE and NSE
• Government of India holds majority stake (over 57 percent)

• Confusing 1806 (Bank of Calcutta founded) with 1955 (SBI formed) — these are two completely different events separated by 149 years
• Saying RBI was formed before Imperial Bank — RBI came in 1935, Imperial Bank in 1921. Imperial Bank acted as quasi-central bank BEFORE RBI
• Forgetting Bharatiya Mahila Bank in the 2017 merger — most aspirants remember only the 5 associate banks but the exam specifically asks about all 6 entities merged
• Mixing up the Subsidiary Banks Act year as 1955 — it was 1959, not the same year as the SBI Act
• Assuming SBI headquarters is in Delhi — it is in Mumbai (State Bank Bhavan, Madame Cama Road)

• BBC + M = Imperial: Bank of Bengal, Bank of Bombay, Bank of Calcutta (original name) merged in 1921. Think BBC channel went Imperial
• 1806-1809-1840-1843-1921-1955: add roughly 3, 31, 3, 78, 34 — hard to memorise arithmetically, so just anchor: 1806 birth, 1921 Imperial, 1955 SBI
• YONO = You Only Need One — launched same year as mega merger (2017). Both happened in 2017, easy to club together
• 5+1=6 in 2017 merger: 5 associate banks PLUS 1 Bharatiya Mahila Bank. Think of it as five fingers plus a thumb makes a full hand

• SBI PO prelims rarely tests this but SBI PO Mains General Awareness section has 1-2 direct questions — usually on founding year, merger date or current Chairman name
• Current affairs angle: Any recent SBI profit record, new product launch (like YONO upgrade), or leadership change is fair game for the GA section in the exam year
• Questions are often framed as negative — which of the following is NOT an associate bank merged in 2017 — so memorise all six entities in the 2017 merger
• Descriptive paper (Letter or Essay) in SBI PO Phase 2 may ask you to write about public sector banking reforms — knowing SBI's history gives you strong factual anchor points to use
• Do not ignore the predecessor chain: Calcutta to Bengal to Imperial to SBI. Exam sometimes gives a jumbled sequence and asks you to arrange in correct order