SBIN

Dec 17 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - RE-APPOINTS ASHWINI KUMAR TEWARI, AS MANAGING DIRECTOR

Source text: ID:nNSEt8QTx

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

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Nov 13 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - SUBSCRIBED 510,000 SHARES OF RAAJMARG INFRA INVESTMENT MANAGERS VIA RIGHTS ISSUE

Source text: ID:nNSE25QtWM

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

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Nov 12 (Reuters) - CARE Ratings Ltd CREI.NS:

• CARE RATINGS - APPROVED SALE OF PARTIAL STAKE IN CAREEDGE GLOBAL IFSC TO SBI AND NSE IFSC FOR 59.4 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE21wJcn

Further company coverage: CREI.NS

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Rewrites first paragraph to include Amundi, adds comment from Amundi CEO, adds details throughout

By Nishit Navin and Gopika Gopakumar

BENGALURU/MUMBAI, Nov 6 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender by assets, and Europe's biggest fund manager Amundi will jointly sell a 10% stake in SBI Funds Management through an initial public offering, the former said in a statement on Thursday.

The asset management firm is India's largest fund manager, collaring a market share of more than 15% and managing assets worth 120 billion rupees ($1.37 billion). The fund, a joint venture between SBI and Amundi, serves retail and institutional investors through mutual funds and investment portfolios.

This is a second attempt by the partners to list the asset manager after an earlier announcement in 2021.

This listing will unlock value for the asset manager, and the Indian market presents significant development potential, said Valérie Baudson, CEO of the French firm, which manages 2,317 billion euros in assets.

This year is expected to be a record for India's IPO market, with the proceeds surpassing the previous year's $20.5 billion as some of the country's largest firms - Tata Capital TATC.NS, LG Electronics India LGEL.NS and HDB Financial HDBF.NS - offered blockbuster listings.

Over 240 large- and mid-sized firms have already raised $10.5 billion in the first nine months of 2025, according to LSEG data, turning India into the third-biggest venue for primary market fundraising globally.

SBI will sell a 6% stake and Amundi will sell 3.7% of its holdings via the IPO, which will likely be completed in 2026, according to the Indian lender. The bank currently owns a 61.9% stake, while Amundi holds 36.4%.

The IPO will also be the third for an SBI subsidiary, after the listing of SBI Cards SBIC.NS and SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS.

"We will now start the process of appointing investment bankers and doing a fresh valuation of the company," said a senior banker at SBI, who did not want to be named as the matter is confidential.

The asset manager reported a net profit of 15.86 billion rupees for the first half of this fiscal year, up 15% from a year earlier.

($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin, Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Janane Venkatraman)

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** State Bank of India SBI.NS down 0.3% in early trade; Q2 results due later in the day

** Analysts expect India's top lender by assets to post ~5% rise in profit, 11.7% rise in rev - data compiled by LSEG

** Nomura sees healthy loan and deposit growth; NIMs to dip ~8 basis points q/q, credit cost steady at 0.5%, with margins and growth outlook key monitorables

** ICICI Securities says RBI's recent measures to ease business and enhance resilience are likely to benefit SBI and large private banks, especially via expected credit loss (ECL) flexibility, acquisition funding, and regulatory rollbacks

** Co's asset quality remains stable with benign credit costs (~0.4%), supported by strong recoveries and high provisioning, unlike stress seen in mid-sized banks, says JM Financial

** 38 analysts have a "buy" rating on avg ; median PT is 950 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, SBI up 19.3%

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Oct 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The largest-ever foreign direct investment in India's banking sector comes with a formidable brief. Dubai-based Emirates NBD ENBD.DU on Saturday agreed to pump in about $3 billion to acquire a controlling stake in RBL Bank RATB.NS. It's a bargain for the Mumbai-headquartered lender, which has fought past the worst of its asset quality problems. The infusion could potentially supercharge the target’s growth across multiple business lines, but the challenges are steep.

The deal includes a preferential issue of up to 60% and an open offer to buy up to 26% of RBL's expanded equity capital from its public shareholders. At 280 rupees ($3.19) apiece, the offer values RBL's shares at 1.1 times its average book value for the year ending March 31, per analysts at brokerage Emkay. That's lower than the 1.3 and 1.4 times multiples on which rivals like Warburg Pincus-backed IDFC First IDFB.NS and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking-backed Yes Bank YESB.NS trade.

Emirates NBD's low-ball offer probably accounts for lingering troubles in RBL's microloans and credit card portfolios, which have weighed on returns. The target's 0.51% return on assets last year was less than half those of similarly sized City Union Bank CTBK.NS and Federal Bank FED.NS, and its return on common equity has been below 10% for the past six financial years. The stock traded as high as 319 rupees on Monday, suggesting shareholders are betting there will be a higher bid.

By boosting RBL's common equity tier 1 ratio to nearly 40% in one shot, the deal gives the bank oodles of capital to turbocharge its lending and other businesses. The hope is that this gives it a chance to break out of an infinite loop of high-cost funds and high-risk assets shackling India's small private banks. Emirates NBD also sports a higher credit rating, which will open the door to prime mortgage customers, a wealth business and to financing Indian companies that are expanding along the emerging trade corridor through the Middle East to Europe.

RBL CEO R. Subramaniakumar and his team hope that will drive up return on equity to an annualised 10% by the second half of the financial year to March 31, 2028, a person close to the bank's thinking told Breakingviews. That optimism is hard to translate into reality. India's hypercompetitive mortgage market is dominated by behemoths HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS, and a growing shift of household assets to financial markets is attracting new players into the wealth business, including a joint venture between Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS and BlackRock BLK.N.

RBL's success in weathering a post-Covid credit quality morass has earned it a rare shot at breaking out of its peer group. Living up to it will be its next big test.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Emirates NBD has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in India's RBL Bank through a primary infusion of approximately $3 billion, the latter said on October 18.The investment will be made via a preferential issue of up to 60%, the statement added.

The Dubai-based bank on the same day announced an open offer to acquire 415.59 million shares of RBL, or 26% of its expanded voting share capital, from its public shareholders. The offer values RBL's shares at 280 rupees apiece.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

Adds details, stock moves; context in paragraphs 2-3, SMBC comments 10-16

By Gopika Gopakumar

MUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 8316.T has no immediate plans to raise its stake in India's Yes Bank YESB.NS beyond 24.99%, a senior executive at the bank told Reuters on Friday.

Its initial purchase, announced in May, marked the latest major overseas investment by a Japanese financial institution as they look to secure new sources of growth after years of rock bottom interest rates at home.

SMBC is, however, moving cautiously with its biggest investment in India, in contrast with analysts' expectations that it would quickly move to seek approval for a further increase in its stake and launch an open offer.

In his first interview since the deal concluded in September, Rajeev Kannan, group executive officer and head of SMBC Group's India division, said the bank is focused on contributing to Yes Bank's growth as its largest shareholder and board member, and does not intend to take on an executive role in the lender.

"We are not actively looking at increasing our stake in Yes Bank beyond the regulatory permissible limit of 24.99%," Kannan said. "There are many areas which Yes Bank still needs to work on, and we need to ensure that those areas, which they have a plan to address, are being executed."

Kannan said that Yes Bank needs to improve on its cost of funds, return on assets and return on equities as compared to its peers.

The bank's current holding in Yes Bank stands at 24.2%.

Under India's takeover regulations, acquiring 25% or more in a listed company triggers a mandatory open offer to purchase at least an additional 26% from public shareholders, potentially resulting in a majority stake of 51%.

In August, SMBC received Reserve Bank of India's approval to buy up to a 24.99% stake in Yes bank from State Bank of India SBI.NS and seven other shareholders after having inked a deal in May to purchase a 20% stake for $1.6 billion, in the country's largest cross-border financial sector merger and acquisition.

Kannan said that State Bank of India has agreed to stay on a significant shareholder with the current shareholding of 10.8%.

Shares of Yes Bank dropped over 4% to 22.1 rupees after the report. They were trading 0.8% lower before the news. The bank's shares are still up more than 20% since the deal was announced in May this year.

BROADER INDIA PLANS

The group, which has investments worth $7 billion in India, intends to keep its existing non-bank lending business SMFG Credit separate from its investment in Yes Bank.

"We have made a significant investment into the NBFC platform and our intention is to scale it up," Kannan said.

"In future, there is a possibility that things could be more integrated maybe. But we haven't basically focused on that. Our intention is to look at each entity on its own strength at this point in time," he said.

SMFG Credit had assets under management totaling $6.5 billion as of March 31, 2025.

Kannan said the group has not applied to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India and continues to evaluate the plan.

India's banking regulator encourages but does not mandate foreign banks to set up "wholly-owned" subsidiaries in India by allowing them rights on par with domestic banks.

A wholly-owned subsidiary has capital that is ring-fenced from the parent bank.

SMBC Group also sees opportunities in the wealth management and investment bank businesses in India, through Yes Bank and its securities platform. The group may also consider asset management business as an area of growth in future, given their holding in Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, added Kannan.

(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kim Coghill)

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MUMBAI, Oct 16 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS (SBI) plans to raise up to 75 billion rupees ($855.2 million), which includes a greenshoe option of 25 billion rupees, through sale of Basel III-compliant tier II bonds maturing in 10 years, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The state-run bank has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Friday, and will have a call option at the end of five years, they said.

The lender did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on October 16:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 87.7030 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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By Nidhi Verma and Mohi Narayan

NEW DELHI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Since late August, two or three trains of 50 tanker cars have been shipping fuel each day from Nayara Energy's refinery on the coast of western India to inland depots - more than double its previous usage of railways to move diesel and petrol.

Shut out of many international markets because of crippling sanctions imposed by the European Union on July 18, the Russian-owned refinery has had to divert more fuel to the domestic market and find new export customers, among numerous workarounds, big and small, forced by the bloc's penalty.

Nayara's ongoing crisis has dragged the Indian government into the position of providing enough support to keep it operating while avoiding moves that could provoke a Western backlash, government and company sources have said. New Delhi's measures to help the refinery owned by a friendly nation include providing tanker trains and approving coastal vessels to ferry its products.

Nayara's ownership places it at the centre of long-standing close ties between New Delhi and Moscow, a relationship that puts India at odds with Western allies.

The refiner, whose biggest shareholder is Russian state oil giant Rosneft, relies exclusively on Russia for imported oil after Iraqi and Saudi Arabian crude supplies were cut off following the EU measure, making it vulnerable if flows are disrupted due to tighter sanctions or stepped-up U.S. pressure.

"The government is trying to cover two possibilities: trying to back Nayara while remaining mindful of the fact that there is going to be a sustained global pressure to tighten sanctions," said Amitendu Palit, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Institute of South Asian Studies.

"Long-term support might not be sustainable unless the whole global dynamics change - like a resolution between Russia and the U.S.A. or progress in Russia-Ukraine conflict," he said.

Nayara, which has condemned the sanctions, did not respond to a Reuters' email seeking comment for this story. India's oil ministry and Rosneft did not respond to requests for comment.

Mumbai-based Nayara is a key player in India's fast-growing fuel sector, accounting for 8% of refined products output and operating more than 6,500 gas stations.

It has been forced to reduce crude runs at its 400,000-barrel-per-day Vadinar refinery to 70-80% of capacity - it was previously running at 104% - as it struggles to find export buyers for its fuel and banks to facilitate payments, sources with knowledge of the refinery operations say.

STOP-GAPS AND WORKAROUNDS

Nayara, whose refinery is not connected to a pipeline network, stepped-up its usage of railcars to move fuel after sanctions meant it struggled to charter coastal ships or sell products for export, forcing it to redirect output domestically.

Its access to more railcars was facilitated by New Delhi, which has also temporarily allowed Nayara to use four coastal vessels, sources said, including the E.U.-sanctioned Leruo and two shadow fleet ships, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged Garuda and Djibouti-flagged Chongchon.

Nayara is seeking government approval to use two more coastal ships, sources said.

Nayara is also seeking government help to source equipment and materials that it is struggling to obtain due to sanctions for a maintenance shut-down scheduled for February, Reuters reported. In the meantime, it is considering pushing the shutdown to April as it scouts for alternative raw materials, sources said.

"We are under constant threat," a senior company official said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, citing the worry that vessels the company is now using could come under future Western sanctions.

"We never anticipated that we would be hit so directly. Now, every day feels like firefighting."

Nayara - the name is a mix of Hindi and English for "New Era" - was called Essar Oil when it was bought in 2017 by Rosneft along with a consortium including Russian fund UCP and global trading house Trafigura, which later sold its stake.

Until 2022, Nayara sourced oil from a variety of countries.

That year, India started bingeing on discounted Russian oil after the West began sanctioning Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, becoming the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude. Recently, those purchases have caused a deep diplomatic fissure between New Delhi and Washington, with President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on imports from India to 50% as punishment.

MAINTENANCE, PAYMENTS BIGGEST IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES

Company sources have said resolving the maintenance situation and being able to make international payments are the biggest immediate challenges for Nayara.

Nayara's main banker, government-owned State Bank of India, stopped processing trade and forex transactions for the refiner in August due to worries over the EU sanctions, sources have said. SBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nayara officials have met finance ministry officials and banks in an effort to resolve the banking issue, but have yet to find a solution, according to government sources, which restricts Nayara's ability to import crude and export fuel using foreign currencies.

India's finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Before the sanctions, Nayara exported about 30% of its output, mostly through transactions with Western, Middle Eastern and Asian trading firms for products shipped to Asia and northwest Europe, according to traders and shipping data.

Since then, Nayara cargoes have been bound for the Middle East, Turkey, Taiwan and Brazil, with at least 16 cargoes of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel shipped on EU-sanctioned tankers, the data shows.

Some of those recent exports were made through traders with payments set off against crude supplies, industry sources said.

In September, Nayara exported 2.23 million barrels of fuel, according to Kpler data, compared with average exports of 3.3 million barrels per month in January through June.

"We are interested in buying from them," a north Asia-based trader said. "They told me they can't take payments, because their bank accounts are blocked."

(Editing by Tony Munroe and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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By Bharath Rajeswaran and Nishit Navin

BENGALURU, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Indian banks are poised to report subdued earnings for the September quarter, weighed down by tepid loan demand across retail and corporate segments and margin contraction due to rate cuts by the central bank, analysts said.

The Reserve Bank of India has lowered its interest rate by 100 basis points this year to revive consumption and investment amid a slowing economy. Rate cuts tend to squeeze banks' margins in the short term, as lenders reduce loan rates faster than they adjust deposit rates.

Analysts forecast private banks to post a year-on-year decline in profit in the September quarter, while net interest income (NII) may see only a marginal uptick.

Sector-wide profit is forecast to fall 7%-12% year-on-year in the quarter, with state-owned banks underperforming larger peers.

Jefferies estimates profits of large banks will fall 12% year-on-year, after posting an 8% growth in the year-ago quarter and a marginal 2% growth in the June quarter.

The brokerage forecasts 5% drop in profit for private lenders and a 20% decline for public sector banks. It expects loan growth at roughly 11% and a flat NII.

Axis Bank AXBK.NS will kick off the banking sector earnings on October 15, followed by Federal Bank FED.NS, ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, IDFC Bank IDFB.NS, IndusInd Bank INBK.NS later in the week.

"Asset quality trends are likely to remain stable due to controlled slippages and robust provision coverage ratios," said Nitin Aggarwal of Motilal Oswal.

Nomura added that stress in unsecured retail and microfinance portfolios remains elevated but delinquency trends are improving, although a gradual profit recovery is likely from the second half of fiscal 2026.

Loan growth is expected to remain muted at around 10% in the September quarter, with corporate and big-ticket retail demand still soft.

Rising bond yields are also likely to weigh on treasury income. "With bond yields rising, treasury gains will not cushion earnings in the September quarter," Axis Securities said.

Analysts expect a recovery from the second half of fiscal year 2026, driven by stronger consumption, government tax relief, and faster growth in unsecured credit.

"We expect the September quarter to mark a turning point, with earnings momentum improving from the December quarter onwards as margin pressure eases and asset quality trends strengthen," said Ankit Bihani, analyst at Nomura.

With the RBI keeping rates unchanged in recent meetings, banks' margins are expected to get some relief from the ongoing quarter as borrowing costs fall and deposit rates adjust.

Banks .NSEBANK, private lenders .NIFPVTBNK and state-owned banks .NIFTYPSU have gained 10.1%, 10.6% and 15% year-to-date, outperforming the Nifty 50's .NSEI 6% rise.

(Reporting by Nishit Navin and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India’s recent proposals to change credit risk rules and implement the so-called expected credit loss (ECL) framework for lenders are unlikely to significantly impact bank balance sheets, thanks to a generous transition period, said the chairman of India's largest lender on Wednesday.

The central bank’s proposals aim to enhance the resilience of the banking sector by aligning India’s regulatory framework with global best practices.

"With regard to ECL, technologically we are ready ... more importantly, the long transition time ensures limited impact on balance sheets of the bank," State Bank of India Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said at an event in Mumbai.

Under the draft ECL framework, banks would be required to classify loans into stages based on credit risk, while continuing to apply existing rules for classifying non-performing assets, or loans that have turned bad.

The RBI has proposed that the new norms come into effect from April 1, 2027, and has invited public comments on the draft guidelines until November 30.

While a draft framework on the rules had been published earlier to bring Indian norms in line with global ones, an implementation date had not been announced.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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** Shares of KPI Green Energy KPIG.NS rise 2% to 474.40 rupees

** Renewable power generation co secures sanction of 32 bln rupees ($361.1 mln) from State Bank of India SBI.NS

** The funds will part-finance development of 250 MW solar project and 370 MW hybrid project in Gujarat

** Projects are secured by 25-year long-term power purchase agreements with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam

** Trading vol so far is more than 613,700 vs 30-day average of 472,826

** KPIG down ~13% YTD

($1 = 88.6190 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

** Indian PSU banks .NIFTYPSU rise 1.1%

** Rise led by State Bank of India SBI.NS, which is up 2%, after CLSA identifies it among its top picks in large-cap lending space

** CLSA says that SBI, India's largest lender by assets, could reach $100 billion market cap within a year

** Canara Bank CNBK.NS rises about 2% after unit Canara Robeco Asset Management files updated DRHP with SEBI for an initial public offering

** CNBK set to gain for third consecutive session

** YTD, the sub-index is up 14%, CNBK climbs about 21% while SBI rises 9.7%

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar)

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• A rate cut of 25 basis points next week would be the best possible option for the RBI, State Bank of India says

• "There is merit and rationale in going for a September rate cut. This will but require calibrated communication by the RBI as post June, the bar for rate cut is indeed higher," says Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor

• RBI's three-day meeting starts next week, with the decision due on October 1

• Ghosh says inflation will continue to remain benign even in FY27, so there is no point in committing an error like August, where rate was not reduced with a neutral policy stance

• Rate cut next week will also project RBI as forward-looking central bank - Ghosh

• In June, RBI cut rate by 50 bps but changed stance to neutral, while in August it maintained status quo

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia)

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TOKYO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T has agreed to buy an additional 4.2% stake in India's Yes Bank YESB.NS from an affiliate of Carlyle Group CG.O for 51 billion yen ($349 million), it said on Wednesday.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan's second largest lender by assets, also said it had now completed its acquisition of an initial 20% stake in the Mumbai-based bank, in a deal first announced in May.

($1 = 146.2800 yen)

(Reporting by Anton Bridge
Editing by Mark Potter)

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Corrects name of CFO to Salim Yahoo from Sahil Yahoo in paragraph 4

By Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - India's KPI Green Energy KPIG.NS is set to raise 32 billion rupees ($363.39 million) through a loan from the country's largest lender to expand production capacity at its renewable power plants, top KPI executives told Reuters on Tuesday.

The loan approval comes amid the Indian government's green energy push targeting 500 gigawatts of non-fossil capacity by 2030, and, according to analysts, stands out as one of the larger deals in the sector's recent history.

KPI Green Energy develops, builds, and manages renewable power facilities, specialising in solar, wind and hybrid power solutions.

The company is raising the funds via a 20-year loan at an interest rate of 8.45% from the State Bank of India, which will be disbursed in a staggered manner over the next 1.5 years, Chief Financial Officer Salim Yahoo told Reuters.

"By 2027, we will finish all our projects in hand in IPP", said Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Faruk G. Patel, referring to its Independent Power Producer business, "which will generate about 10 billion rupees in revenue."

The company also issued its first green bond on Tuesday, planning to raise 6.7 billion rupees at a coupon of 8.5% per annum.

The rupee-denominated five-year bond was externally credit-enhanced - its rating was given a boost by a 65% guarantee from GuarantCo, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company.

"Without the guarantee, we would have had to pay a 14-15% coupon to raise funds via equity or quasi-equity instruments," Patel said.

The guarantee effectively raised the instrument's credit rating from A+ to AA+ rating by CRISIL and ICRA, Yahoo said.

Aseem Infrastructure Finance subscribed to a majority of the bonds, while Jio Finance and SBI Capital Markets took the rest, Yahoo added.

SBI Capital Markets was the sole arranger for the issue, the executives said.

($1 = 88.0587 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; x.com: @_KhushiMalhotra;))

By Ashwin Manikandan and Gopika Gopakumar

MUMBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Indian exporters, hurt by punitive tariffs imposed by the U.S., have sought a moratorium on loan repayments and a favorable exchange rate from the country's central bank in a closed-door meeting with top officials, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs as high as 50% on Indian exports last month, hitting a wide range of industries and prompting the government to come up with a rescue plan to soften the blow.

Sectors such as textiles, chemicals, gems and jewelry, and fisheries are expected to be the worst hit and may be forced to cut jobs as they face uncertainty over order flows and scramble to find new buyers in markets across Europe, Africa and Asia.

Exporters are seeking a 12-month moratorium on principal and interest payments on their loans, according to a written request by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) that was reviewed by Reuters.

The industry lobby has also sought a collateral-free credit guarantee scheme, like the one offered to small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, where the government guarantees a portion of a loan, giving banks comfort to keep lending to these businesses.

"This breathing space will allow exporters to recalibrate operations," the FIEO said in the note, adding that this would help avoid defaults and ensure the long-term financial health of export-oriented businesses.

India is preparing measures to help exporters deal with the crisis, even as the U.S. and India look at resuming negotiations to address the trade barriers, Reuters reported earlier.

No measures or agreements to reduce tariffs have been announced so far.

Some export organisations have also sought a more favorable exchange rate for their dollar holdings, one of the sources said.

Their requests include the sale of dollars at the real effective exchange rate (REER) of the rupee as opposed to the spot rate.

The REER is an inflation-adjusted exchange rate against a basket of currencies of trading nations and not just against the dollar.

At present, that rate is about 15% higher than the spot rupee/dollar exchange rate and will help exporters get more from their dollar holdings, the source said.

A spokesperson for the Reserve Bank of India did not immediately respond to a query from Reuters.

BANKS RELUCTANT

Indian banks "are prepared" to help New Delhi put together a fiscal package for exporters, but are likely to push back on deferred loan repayments, two banking industry sources said.

Banks are opposed to any plan that would involve a moratorium, one of these sources said.

Financial institutions have been asked to lend liberally to exporters, with the assurance from the government for adequate support in case of stress, this source said.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan and Gopika Gopakumar in Mumbai; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Favourable pricing of U.S. dollar bonds issued by India's biggest lender has spurred expectations of more firms tapping the overseas market, with three companies preparing to raise about $1 billion in total this month, bankers and analysts said.

Indian dollar bond yields have dropped after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the country's sovereign rating to "BBB" from "BBB-" in mid-August, the first upgrade in 18 years.

State Bank of India SBI.NS sold $500 million in five-year dollar bonds earlier this week at a yield just 75 basis points over that on corresponding U.S. Treasuries — the lowest spread ever for an Indian issuer, Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said on Tuesday.

"The tight pricing has demonstrated reduction in the borrowing cost for Indian issuers," Setty said.

India's rating upgrade, "coupled with potential lower U.S. Treasury yields on expectations of impending Fed rate cuts, might make dollar fundraising relatively more competitive in the near term," said Shoaib Ahmed, director, debt capital markets at ANZ.

Two non-bank lenders — Hero Fincorp HERO.NS and Credila Financial Services HDFR.NS — and state-run Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS plan to launch dollar bond issues, aiming to raise a combined $1 billion through up to five-year notes, according to bankers.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters' emails seeking comment.

"We do anticipate more issuances over the next four months, both from banks and non-banking financial companies, if current strong market conditions continue," said Pramod Shenoi, head of Asia Pacific research at research firm CreditSight.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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Sept 2 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• FITCH RATINGS - RATES STATE BANK OF INDIA'S PROPOSED SENIOR BONDS 'BBB-(EXP)'

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - Moneyboxx Finance Ltd MONB.BO:

• RAISES 340 MILLION RUPEES FROM STATE BANK OF INDIA

Source text: ID:nBSE9N7DSB

Further company coverage: MONB.BO

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By Sudarshan Varadhan and Sethuraman N R

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - High U.S. tariffs and potential anti-dumping duties on Indian solar panel exports will exacerbate a supply glut in India next year as domestic project bidding slows, according to industry officials and analysts.

U.S. President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on shipments from India will choke panel sales to its top overseas market, which accounts for 90% of module exports, they said.

The situation could deteriorate further if anti-dumping duties are imposed on some manufacturers following a petition filed on July 17 by U.S. solar companies with the Commerce Department seeking duties on imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos.

"The 50% tariff will squeeze margins, and potential anti-dumping duties will make competing in the U.S. even tougher," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of clean energy consultancy Mercom Capital.

India's awards of solar generation projects and new tenders slowed dramatically in the quarter ended June, with an adviser to the federal power ministry urging renewable developers to bid cautiously in line with demand growth projections.

"We expect that India will enter overcapacity stage already in 2026, which will feel even worse with the loss of the U.S. market," said Wood Mackenzie analyst Yana Hryshko.

New Delhi's incentives — including import duties and domestic manufacturing mandates — helped double module production capacity annually to 74 gigawatts by March. State Bank of India Capital Markets projects this will reach 190 GW by 2027.

India's solar module factories are already running at only 25% of total capacity on average, said Vinay Rustagi, chief business officer of manufacturer Premier Energies PEME.NS.

"Some companies are running at 80%-85% like us, others are running at much lower capacity," he said.

CHINA CELL IMPORTS

If anti-dumping duties are imposed, Indian manufacturers must either find alternative markets or supply domestically, Hryshko noted.

Finding new markets will be challenging. Indian solar modules made using Chinese cells are 48% more expensive than China-made modules, while those using Indian cells are roughly 143% more expensive, Mercom data shows.

India has capitalised on an 82% decline in prices of Chinese cells since late 2022 and steadily boosted exports of modules, energy think-tank Ember said.

The local solar module manufacturing push has helped companies such as Waaree WAAN.NS and Adani ADEL.NS increase lucrative U.S. exports. But it has also pushed up solar generation costs, which are passed on to debt-laden power retailers.

India plans to mandate domestic cell use from June 2026, despite these costing over three times more than Chinese alternatives, according to Fei Chen, an analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy.

Analysts say the move may trigger increased Chinese imports before the rules take effect.

"Reliance on cell imports is likely to increase in the short term, potentially leading to stockpiling, price spikes, and supply chain pressures," Mercom's Prabhu said.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore and Sethuraman NR in New Delhi; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

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Updates with quote in paragraph 2, adds BCG comments in paragraph 4-5

Aug 25 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender by assets, has requested the banking sector regulator to allow banks to finance acquisitions, its chairperson said on Monday.

"We've been formally requesting the regulator, we'll make a formal request from the IBA (Indian Banks' Association) also, that at least start with some listed companies where the acquisitions are more transparent and are approved by the shareholders," SBI Chairperson Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said at an industry event.

Indian banks are barred from lending for mergers and acquisitions, pushing companies to rely on non-banking financial firms or bonds to finance such deals.

"Some of these things are restricted because in the past, they have been misused," Ruchin Goyal, managing director and senior partner at consulting firm BCG said at the same event.

"But now with so many enabling environments coming in, with NPAs (non-performing assets) at all-time low, the regulator can start relaxing these norms. It's for the regulators to put the right guard rails," Goyal said, adding that one could start with the "safest" segments such as large listed companies and land financing.

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd MTNL.NS:

• DEFAULT IN PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL & INTEREST OF BANKS BY MTNL

• PRINCIPAL OVERDUE AT 18.73 BILLION RUPEES, INTEREST OVERDUE AT 8.65 BILLION RUPEES

• TOTAL OUTSTANDING BORROWINGS FROM BANKS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AT 86.59 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9yF4FP

Further company coverage: MTNL.NS

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** India's equity benchmarks inch higher; Nifty .NSEI and Sensex .BSESN up 0.3% each

** State Bank of India SBI.NS, Tata Motors TAMO.NS among top four boosts for Nifty after Q1 earnings

** Uncertainty over U.S. tariffs keeps gains capped; investors wait for U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's meeting later this week

** Fourteen of the 16 major sectors advance; mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 up 0.4% while small-caps .NIFSMCP100 flat

** SBI up 2.2% on better-than-expected Q1 thanks to higher treasury profits and curtailed expenses, while TAMO adds 2.4% on unchanged outlook for JLR

** Among other stocks, Yatra Online YATR.NS soars 20% as Q1 profit jumps nearly four-fold y/y

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

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** State Bank of India SBI.NS down 0.3% at 802.75 rupees ahead of Q1 earnings

** Analysts expect country's largest lender by assets to report an almost 3% rise in net profit vs 1% rise a year ago

** Jefferies says SBI is on track to deliver compounded annual credit growth of 12% over FY25-28, and profitability

** Nirmal Bang says recent rate cuts and tax reliefs could boost SBI's retail loans segment

** But notes corporate loan growth, which fell short of SBI's expectations in Q4, depends on willingness of companies to revive investment plans amid ongoing global uncertainties

** SBI shares up nearly 1% YTD vs about 3.6% rise in benchmark Nifty .NSEI index

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

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MUMBAI, July 29 (Reuters) - India's SBI Cards and Payment Services SBIC.NS accepted bids worth 20 billion rupees ($230.33 million) for bonds maturing in three years, three traders said on Tuesday.

It will pay a coupon of 7.05% and had invited commitment bids for the issue earlier in the day, they said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on July 29:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.8330 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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MUMBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - India's SBI Cards and Payment Services SBIC.NS plans to raise 20 billion rupees ($231.3 million) through the sale of bonds maturing in three years, three traders said on Monday.

It has invited coupon and commitment bids for the issue on Tuesday, they said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on July 28:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 86.4550 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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