Top SBI sources told The Financial Express that the bank, which has refrained from servicing retail investors through the depository despite a stake in the depository and a participant with it, has finally crystallised its plans for storming the depository market.

SBI has a 4.71 per cent stake in the National Securities Depository (NSDL). It had so far restricted itself to dematerialising the bank's own holdings and that of its institutional clients.

The change in focus has come well in time to wean away a large slice of the market. So far, one lakh accounts have been opened with the depository but this number could go upto 10 lakhas investors continue to flock to the depository.

With its huge network, SBI could expand to several parts of the country and service small investors, feel depository experts.

``We have chalked out a concrete plan. We are starting off with six branches in Mumbai. By the end of the year, one branch each in New Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad will get separate connectivity with NSDL. Each of these main branches will in turn be servicing between 10-15 other local branches of the city. By early next year, we plan to be present in all the 13 centres where a local head office of SBI is located,'' said a top SBI source.

``We have gone in for a quiet launch as we are still getting to terms with the new business and we want to first build up our expertise in the area before we go public about our plans. As of now, all our existing cash clients are already being informed about the new service and depending upon the demand we would also be attracting fresh clients to our depositoryservice. As and when the demand picks up we will expand in a big way,'' said the source. SBI has also decided not to charge any account opening charge for a depository account as part of the promotion drive to attract customers.

The decision of SBI to finally jump into the retail business is being welcomed by the market considering the huge network that the bank enjoys and the fact that small investors would typically be looking at opening accounts with a bank. In the absence of any other bank enjoying the kind of reach that SBI has, small investors in smaller towns would have been deprived of opening accounts with a bank.

SBI's initiative has also come in the wake of its own scrip being put on the mandatory demat list. From January 4 onwards, SBI shares would be traded only in demat mode for which its investors would need to open a depository account. By virtue of being a depository participant, SBI would have deprived its shareholders of its wide reach by not jumping into the retail depository business.