Hyderabad: State Bank of India closed down more than 44 per cent ATMs in Telangana state after its merger with associate banks. The decline was observed between March and June 2017, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
Before March, total number of ATMs were 10,554 which fell to 9,320 by June-end. The decrease is primarily on account of the reduction in a number of ATMs by SBI.
The quarterly data released by the RBI indicated that SBI closed down more than 44 per cent of ATMs in Telangana between March and June 2017. Mr Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, who analysed the development, said, “Telangana for some strange reason lost more than 1,300 SBI ATMs in four months.”
In March 2017, the state had 10,554 ATMs and by June 2017, it came down to 9,320. Five associate banks of the State Bank group completed their merger with SBI during this period. This included the Hyderabad-based State Bank of Hyderabad. However, a similar trend was not observed in states where the other associate banks like State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur were headquartered.
Mr Dubbudu said that he approached SBI, seeking a clarification on the closure. However, there was no response from the SBI management. “No officials are ready to talk about it.”
“The law does not prevent them from closing. But as a responsible group, the management needs to inform the account holders about it,” Mr Dubbudu added.
SBI officials were not available for a comment despite several attempts to contact them.
