State Bank of India (SBI) today said it expects loan growth of 16-18 per cent in the current fiscal despite a general slowdown in credit offtake.
“There is demand slowdown... We expect a credit growth of 16-18 per cent for 2012-13,” SBI Deputy Managing Director S B Nayar said here.
With regard to corporate loans, he said certain sectors that are doing well in terms of credit offtake include ports, consumer goods and cement. However, there are issues with some sectors, including road and powers, he added.
Credit growth of banks has been flat in the second quarter at 0.1 per cent to 16.4 per cent, according to RBI data for the period.
On the recent rating action by Standard & Poors (S&P) on SBI, Nayar said the downgrading will have no impact as the agency has only brought the rating on par with the sovereign rating. So, there will be no cost implication on raising funds, he said.
Earlier this week, S&P revised the stand-alone credit profile (SACP) of SBI to ‘BBB—’ from ‘BBB’
Meanwhile, SBI’s newly appointed Managing Director S Vishvanathan said that last year the bank spent Rs 71 crore in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
This year the target is Rs 110 crore, which is one per cent of the net profit for 2011-12, for various CSR activities, he added.
Vishvanathan also donated a vehicle to Sant Hardyal Education and Orphans Welfare Society here as part of its CSR.