The country’s largest public sector lender, the State Bank of India, said on Tuesday that its board has approved raising up to USD 3 billion via debt in the current financial year. The SBI will raise the funds in one or more tranches through a public offer or a private placement of senior unsecured notes, which will be denominated in US dollars or another major foreign currency, it said.
In a stock exchange filing, SBI said, “The Executive Committee of the Central Board at its meeting held today, i.e., June 11, 2024, has approved, inter alia, to examine the status and decide on long-term fund raising in single or multiple tranches of up to USD 3 billion through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in the US dollar or any other major foreign currency during FY2024–25.”
However, the bank has not mentioned what the proceeds will be used for. It is to be noted that the Indian banks are sharing up their capital base to meet the rising demand for loans. Back in January, the SBI raised Rs 5,000 crore by selling Basel III-compliant Tier-I perpetual bonds. On Tuesday, SBI’s shares were up 0.8 percent and have gained 30.5 percent so far this year.