SBI Chairman on why Brexit is not good for the world

'I believe that we will benefit more by globalisation.'

Brexit is ‘not the right thing’ for the more connected and more collaborative world, State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya has said, describing it as a step back in the time of globalisation.

"I believe that we will benefit more by globalisation.

“Brexit is actually a step back in the sense that you are going back from being connected to being on your own.

“If you look at it ideologically, I would say Brexit is not something that probably is good for the world," Bhattacharya said during a live Facebook chat with the former Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Sree Sreenivasan.

Bhattacharya, who is currently in the city, will be meeting investors and rating agencies.

From an Indian point of view, Bhattacharya said India will need to ‘re-examine’ and ‘re-negotiate’ the trade access with the European Union and the United Kingdom which she noted may or may not be ‘good’ for India.

Among the most powerful and influential women in the world of finance, Bhattacharya said Brexit is ‘not the right thing’ as the more connected and more collaborative the world gets today, "it will be better for everyone".

"The less inclusive we become, I think it is not good for the world at large," she said. Bhattacharya noted that the Brexit will not have too much of an impact on SBI directly.

She said the bank has 12 branches in the UK that cater to particular niche operations. She added that there is one branch that does wholesale operation that might see some amount of slowing down.

While stressing that Brexit will have very little impact on SBI operations, she said UK’s decision to leave the European Union is "not the answer".

Last month, Bhattacharya had said that Brexit will provide India better market access to the European Union and England, even as there will be some market volatility.

"As risk aversion sets in, there would be a decline in financial markets and India would see this impact along with other nations.

“But as trade strategies are reworked there could be potential advantages in the form of better market access for India to the EU and Britain," Bhattacharya had said in a statement.

Britain voted to leave the EU in a deadly blow to the 28-nation bloc, forcing Prime Minister David Cameron to resign in the wake of the defeat in the referendum, the result of which triggered a panic reaction in world markets and raised questions over immigration and other issues in Britain after the divorce.

The image is used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Reuters