The largest lender of the country, State Bank of India is planning to take its operations to Saudi Arabia in a time of a few weeks.

It has been confirmed by Mr Hemant G. Contractor, Managing Director and Group Executive (International Banking) that the operations are all set and the team is all ready for set up.

The branch of the bank would be set up in Jeddah.

"We will start soon after the completion of few regulatory requirements. This is expected in the next few weeks. So we will commence operations by next month," he said.

"We have completed all other procedural requirements and all necessary infrastructure is in place. We are ready in all aspects to launch operations in Jeddah," added Contractor.

"The Saudi market is a growth driver for the entire GCC, the Kingdom is host to a great number of Indian expatriates and India and Saudi Arabia have strong and extensive links in trade and commerce. All these are strong reasons for us to be here," he said.

"Also once we begin operations, the Jeddah branch will provide a slew of services on both sides of the balance sheet and beyond balance sheet as well," he added.