State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, has decided to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore additional capital from the market in the year ahead.
SBI’s “committee of directors for capital raising have an enabling approval from the shareholders for raising additional equity capital up to Rs 15,000 crore by way of public issue (i.e. follow-on public issue) or rights issue or private placement, including qualified institutional placement (QIP) / global depository receipts (GDR) / American depository receipts (ADRs) and/or any other mode or a combination therefore,” SBI said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The government has said it would allow its stake in State-owned banks to fall to 52 per cent. At present, the Government holds 58.6 per cent in SBI.
SBI last raised equity capital to the tune of Rs 8,032 crore, with the Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) subscribing to over 40 per cent of the issue in January last year.
The committee has also decided to seek the Government of India or Reserve Bank of India’s approval for raising capital under the State Bank of India Act.