State Bank of India (SBI) traces its roots to the Bank of Calcutta (later renamed as Bank of Bengal) which operated from the early 19th century marking the advent of modern banking in the Indian subcontinent. Shortly thereafter two similar banks, Bank of Bombay and Bank of Madras, were also founded. In 1921, the three banks were merged to create an all-India bank, the Imperial Bank of India (IBI), to extend banking facilities and render the money resources of India more accessible to the country’s trade and commerce. As the largest commercial bank of India then, IBI was nationalized by the Government of India to create SBI on 1 July 1955 for providing increased banking facilities in the rural areas. Aligning its policy with national objectives, SBI took up development banking activities, viz. branch expansion, financing of SSIs, agriculture and exports on a scale never attempted before.