SBI to raise up to $2 billion via bonds
18 Jun 2012 1:00 AM GMT
The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will raise up to $2 billion through an overseas bond sale in the next three months.
‘We will be raising $1-2 billion within the next three months,’ SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.
He said although the bank is yet to decide on the exact size of the issue, it will not go for a smaller issue size, saying it does not help a bank of its size.
The fund infusion will help the bank augment its tier-II capital adequacy. Its total capital adequacy had stood at 13.9 per cent in March 2012, with the core tier-I constituting for over 9 per cent.
The bank, which was downgraded by the rating agency Moody's last year over fears of asset quality and lower capital adequacy ratio, has not decided the exact geography to raise the money.
He said the bank has written to Moody's recently to reconsider and upgrade its rating following the infusion of Rs 8,000 crore capital from the government late last fiscal and a ‘war against non performing assets’ which it is winning.
‘We were not in a position to apply for a reversal of the action as our last quarter results were yet to come out and we did not have any numbers to show. Once the results were out, we have written to them,’ Chaudhuri said, stating that it will take some time for the rating agency to take action.
‘We will be raising $1-2 billion within the next three months,’ SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.
He said although the bank is yet to decide on the exact size of the issue, it will not go for a smaller issue size, saying it does not help a bank of its size.
The fund infusion will help the bank augment its tier-II capital adequacy. Its total capital adequacy had stood at 13.9 per cent in March 2012, with the core tier-I constituting for over 9 per cent.
The bank, which was downgraded by the rating agency Moody's last year over fears of asset quality and lower capital adequacy ratio, has not decided the exact geography to raise the money.
He said the bank has written to Moody's recently to reconsider and upgrade its rating following the infusion of Rs 8,000 crore capital from the government late last fiscal and a ‘war against non performing assets’ which it is winning.
‘We were not in a position to apply for a reversal of the action as our last quarter results were yet to come out and we did not have any numbers to show. Once the results were out, we have written to them,’ Chaudhuri said, stating that it will take some time for the rating agency to take action.
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