3 weeks ago
SBI Chairman Pushes AI Banking Transformation Beyond Urban Customers
The leader of a very big bank in India has an idea about computers that can learn, which is called artificial intelligence, or AI.
Right now, banks mostly use AI to talk to customers and help with everyday banking.
The bank leader thinks AI should do much more than that.
He wants AI to help people who live in villages and small towns.
It should also help people who run small businesses and people who cannot get loans the normal way.
Many of these people are left out of the old banking system.
AI could help banks understand them better and decide who can safely get a loan.
That way, more people in India could get money to grow their farms or shops.
He shared his idea at a big banking meeting in Mumbai.
He believes AI can change banking in India for the better.
SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty called for a wider AI-led transformation in Indian banking.
He said lenders must move beyond customer service and retail banking applications of AI.
He emphasized addressing the needs of rural communities, small businesses, and borrowers outside traditional credit models.
He spoke at the FIBAC 2026 annual banking conference in Mumbai on Tuesday.
His remarks cast AI as a tool for financial inclusion rather than just operational efficiency.
- Who
- Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman of State Bank of India
- What
- Called for a wider AI-led transformation in banking to serve rural communities, small businesses, and borrowers outside traditional credit models
- Where
- Mumbai, India
- When
- Tuesday, at the FIBAC 2026 annual banking conference
- Why
- To extend the benefits of AI beyond customer service and retail banking to underserved borrowers
Key facts
- Speaker
- Challa Sreenivasulu Setty
- Role
- Chairman, State Bank of India
- Event
- FIBAC 2026 annual banking conference
- Location
- Mumbai
- Day
- Tuesday
- Core Message
- AI should play a bigger role in India's banking transformation beyond customer service and retail banking
- Target Groups
- Rural communities, small businesses, borrowers outside traditional credit models









