The State Bank of India is preparing to expand its wealth management and financial planning services and exploit India's largely untapped mass affluent demographic, this publication can exclusively report.

In an email to WealthBriefing Asia, an official for the bank said it expects to increase its financial planning and advisory service network from 502 branches to as many as 1,000 by March next year. The bank has been offering FPAS to mass affluent clients and high net worth individuals on a pilot basis since March this year.

The strategy fits with the general trend of banks, both domestic and foreign, building up their wealth management capabilities in India to tap into the growth of an affluent middle class.

"As per the road map drawn up by the Bank for offering value added services to mass affluent and HNI clientele it was envisaged to begin with the introduction of FPAS [financial planning and advisory services] to our mass affluent and HNI customers, achieve stability, gain experience, achieve proficiency in this field and, after establishing our credentials, introduce wealth management services in a phased manner," the official said.

The bank has 12,000 branches in India and serves over 14 crore account holders. 

(1 crore = 10,000,000 Rupees = $216,967.10)