SBI says Q2 corporate lending soars 18%; tops Rs 2 trillion

Business

oi-Staff

By Super

Published: Thursday, September 26, 2013, 13:28 [IST]

Mumbai: State Bank of India Wednesday said its large corporate assets base registered a full 18 percent growth in the second quarter compared to the previous fiscal, resulting in its loan book crossing the Rs 2-trillion-mark.

"The CAG (corporate accounts group) has crossed a business of Rs 2,00,000 crore," the bank said in a statement Wednesday.The bank's exposure to the corporates had stood at Rs 1,68,901 crore at end of the June quarter.

Interestingly, the jump comes even as bankers are complaining about no new project coming up for funding and the bank reportedly stopping lending to road projects which do not have fully secured the land.

Bankers say majority of corporates are back to banks to meet working capital requirements. SBI had yesterday said it posted a healthy growth of over 20 percent in advances during Q2 as the commercial papers (CP) and certificate of deposits (CD) markets have dried up of late as pricing have shot up.

The rates in the call money markets, too, have hardened following the Reserve Bank's liquidity tightening measures in July to arrest the rupee fall.

SBI has denied facing any liquidity issues though it has taken some measures like being cautious on new loans by discounting the letters of credit of only the top-rated companies. Meanwhile, SBI also opened a corporate branch in the Bandra Kurla Complex area of the metropolis.

PTI