India's SBI to focus on small deposits to boost liquidity, MD says
By Siddhi Nayak
MUMBAI, Aug 28 (Reuters) -State Bank of India SBI.NS, the nation’s largest lender by assets, will focus on so-far neglected small-ticket deposits to boost liquidity, the managing director announced on Wednesday.
Indian lenders have been grappling with liquidity pressure as deposits growth has lagged loan growth in the last few quarters.
"We are focusing on the small-value, small-ticket accounts to raise deposits," Managing Director Ashwini Kumar Tewari said at an event in Mumbai.
The lender will focus on accounts under a government scheme called "Jan Dhan", or people's wealth, that provides access to various financial services to low income groups, Tewari said.
The average deposit size per account under that programme is around 4,500 rupees ($53.61).
SBI's gross advances grew 15.4% year-on-year for the quarter ended June 30, while it deposits rose 8.2%.
Tewari also said that the SBI would raise its deposit rates, if needed, but did not give other details. The bank's fixed deposit interest rates range between 3.5% to 7% per year, largely in line with other major lenders.
Banks in the country have been facing challenges with deposits as retail customers were attracted by "alternative investment avenues", Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said earlier this month. One such avenue is the stock market, which is trading a record-high levels in India.
Tewari said any market correction could divert money back to the banking system via deposits.
He also said raising capital through infrastructure bonds had brought down SBI's credit-to-deposit ratio.
($1 = 83.9340 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Siddhi Nayak in Mumbai, Writing by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
