SBI
The new logo of State Bank of India (SBI) is pictured at the podium of the venue of a news conference after the announcement of SBI's fourth quarter results, in Kolkata, India May 19, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File PhotoReuters

India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has asked customers of its subsidiary banks to apply for new cheque books and IFS codes before December 31.

Taking to microblogging platform Twitter, the bank said that the validity of cheques of erstwhile associated banks has been extended till 31st December, 2017 by the RBI.

Earlier in September the bank put out a similar notice asking customers of its subsidiary banks to apply for new cheque books and IFS codes by September 31.

Accounts holders of State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Raipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad and Bharatiya Mahila Bank will have to apply for the new cheque books and IFS codes.

Users can avail the new cheque books via the Internet and mobile banking, ATMs or by visiting the home branch, the lender added.

SBI officials informed that transactions based on old codes will still go through and will not be held up as they have been mapped with the new codes internally by the bank.

However, if one has already provided the IFSC code to any other financial institutions, it should not result in any roadblock, the Economic Times reported.

The lender has also changes in branch names, branch codes, and even the IFSC codes of branches located in some of the major cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Patna, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Amravati, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Lucknow.

Earlier on April 1, SBI's associate banks State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore, besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank merged with the SBI.

With the merger, SBI has been catapulted to the ranks of the top 50 banks in the world in terms of assets now worth Rs 37 lakh crore. The bank has grown its deposit base to over Rs 26 lakh crore and advances to around Rs 18.50 lakh crore, 22,500 branches, of which 20,000 are its own and 58,000 ATMs.