Indian awards, recognition, national honours achieved by members

The State Bank of India's (SBI) Chicago branch , a member of The Great Indian Bazaar , has won the distinction of being the fastest growing foreign bank in Illinois state with a 78 per cent growth rate in 2004 over the previous year.

This puts SBI, with assets of 147.4 million dollars, ahead of giants like the runner-up, ABN Amro Bank ($28.86 billion assets) and Bank of Montreal ($11.76 billion assets), according to data from the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate (the state's regulatory body).

With the exception of SBI and ABN Amro, the other banks in the list had a negative growth rate for the same period.

SBI's Chicago office acts as a bridge between American exporters and Indian importers, Jyotirmoy Bhattacharjee, SBI's chief executive officer, told reporters. With higher US exports to India in both material and technology, Bhattacharjee expects SBI's business to go up.

"Because the cost of credit in India is high, the Indian government encourages importers in India to borrow at international rates. This way the eventual cost of their products will be lower," said Bhattacharjee.

There were several other factors at play. "India's foreign exchange position is stronger. This has enlarged the scope of the borrowing. Last year, the interest rates in the US were at around three per cent - a historic low, while in India it was around six per cent.

"As a result of liberalisation, any Indian importer can avail of between 180 to 360 days of foreign credit. The credit has also been extended to Indian importers of capital goods."