SBI plans $1 billion medium-term notes issue by August

State Bank of India plans to come out with a medium-term notes (bonds) issue worth about $1 billion before August.

Talking to media persons on the sidelines of a CSR event at the Bangalore circle office here on Monday, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, Chairman, SBI, said that the bank has time till August to come out with a medium-term notes issue.

On the size of the issue, he said whenever SBI has gone to the markets in the past, it has been for about $1 billion.

“The issue is for our overseas operations,” he said, adding that preparation for the issue was going on and the bank has time till August. The exact timing of the issue will be decided at a “strategic moment”, said Mr Chaudhuri.

SBI has a tier-I capital adequacy of 9.67 per cent and its current year profitability is “expected to be good”, he said.

“We are not stressed for capital,” he added.

Merger moves

On the merger of associate banks with SBI, he said that the economic rationale for merger was “as strong as ever”. But mergers “require capital, require funding, and so it would receive some attention”, he said, adding that the bank will decide on it during the year.

On the impact of rupee depreciation, Mr Chaudhuri said that the importing customers have been impacted, but exporters have been on an advantage. Remittances from Indians abroad into NRI accounts have gone up, he added.

Lending rates

On lending rates going down further, he said any interest rate reduction would depend on CRR cut by the RBI. “More the RBI cuts the CRR, greater will be the ability of the banks to reduce interest rates. We see a direct correlation between the level of CRR and the level of interest that banks have to charge,” he explained.

anju@thehindu.co.in