Commodity Online
NEW DELHI: You must have seen the State Bank of India’s proud announcement that it has the largest number of branches across India and at any nook and corner you can see an SBI branch. But, things may change in the future with more number of branches becoming an unviable option for several banks.

For them, more branches mean more cost. So, what will bank do to cater to customers. That is when the technology comes to the rescue of banks.

Across the globe, big banks are all set to jump on to online banking in a big way.

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According to experts, the world may soon see banks closing down their branches to cut costs and go for online banking in a big way. According to experts, online banking is much cheaper and the expenses for the banks is almost nil.

A recent news about Goldman has triggered rumours that the world is looking to online banking as an alternative in the coming days.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is weighing whether to launch an internet banking operation.

If Goldman goes ahead, the new unit will seek deposits that can be used to fund various businesses now that Goldman is a bank-holding company. The possible online bank hasn’t been named yet, and many details of its operating plans are undecided. It is likely to offer a range of savings products, such as certificates of deposit.

The New York company already has about $20 billion in deposits, which are held by its bank subsidiaries. Attracting even more deposits, typically a low-margin business, will give Goldman a more stable funding base amid tumultuous market conditions.

The internet push would be a small but important part of the firm’s emerging strategy.

While still better off than most of its rivals, Goldman is expected to post a net loss of about $2 billion when it reports fiscal fourth-quarter results. That would be the firm’s first quarterly loss since going public in 1999.

Goldman will face competition ranging from traditional banks Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc to ING Direct, a unit of ING Groep NV that does much of its business online.
Goldman news is an encouraging one for several banks which are struggling to maintain its branches spread over several states.

So, we may soon see banks without any branches at all. You can just log in and do your transactions online without standing on a queue.

Forget branches, the new generation banks may not even have ATMs. That will be just virtual banking. Something which you may see in the near future.