SBI loan growth in fiscal 2013 at 21%: Chaudhuri

India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, witnessed a loan growth of 21% in the recently concluded financial year (2012-13) driven by strong demand from coprorations.

India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), witnessed a loan growth of 21% in the recently concluded financial year (2012-13) driven by strong demand from coprorations.

HT Image

“Demand for loans picked up in February- March and it was from large and mid-size companies,” said Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, SBI. “Deposit growth in the last fiscal was close to 15%.”

The lender also said it does not see any stress on its R35,000-crore gold loan portfolio because of the plummeting prices of the precious metal, but said it will revise its loan-to-value (LTV) ratio from the present 70%. Lowering of LTV ratio means that the people will get lesser amount of loan for the gold they pledge.

Chaudhuri said that the bank’s LTV ratio is based on the prices of the peak value. “Generally we keep a 30 % limit (of value). Yes, we will have to review that. That (LTV) will be adjusted... We would be revising our advisory for gold loans with the valuations (dropping),” he said.

He said that the bank does not lend against gold in the conventional manner and that its portfolio comprises agricultural advances to farmers wherein pledging of gold as a security increases the value of the advances.