SBI selects banks for ₹10,000 crore share sale

SBI’s sale will help bolster its capital buffers as it attempts to grow loans at a faster pace.

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, has selected underwriters for an institutional share sale that could raise at least 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

A man speaks on a mobile phone outside the State Bank of India building in Mumbai, India. Photographer: ADEEL HALIM (BLOOMBERG NEWS)

The government-run lender picked Bank of America Corp., CLSA Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc to arrange the offering, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. and SBI Capital Markets Ltd. were also chosen to work on the deal, the people said.

SBI’s sale will help bolster its capital buffers as it attempts to grow loans at a faster pace. Credit growth in India’s banking system is rising at the fastest pace in five years after a cash crunch in 2018 curtailed new loans from shadow financiers.

The deal will add to the $11.8 billion raised through equity offerings in India over the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Terms of the offering haven’t been finalized, and details such as the fundraising target could change, the people said. SBI’s board granted approval in October for an equity offering of as much as 200 billion rupees.

A representative for SBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.