SBIN

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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Changes sourcing to company statement, adds coupon rate in paragraph 2

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS has raised $500 million by issuing dollar-denominated bonds maturing in five years, the lender said on Tuesday, days after S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign credit rating for the first time in 18 years.

India's largest lender by assets will pay a semi-annual coupon of 4.50% on the dollar bonds, which will be issued through its London branch and listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) at GIFT City, the lender said.

The notes will be rated 'BBB' by S&P, in line with the issuer's ratings.

Last month, the global rating agency upgraded India's long-term sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'.

Yields on the dollar bonds of SBI, widely considered as a so-called quasi-sovereign issuer with credit ratings closely linked to the sovereign rating, had dropped after the upgrade, and will benefit the lender for fresh fundraising.

More favourable placement opportunities are arising for state-linked entities and a broader category of banks and non-banking finance companies, said Maksim Zenkov, deputy head of emerging markets fixed income at financial data aggregator Cbonds.

"The upward trend in the government bond yields serves as an additional stimulus to consider tapping the dollar debt market."

In November 2024, SBI raised $500 million through five-year dollar bonds at a yield of 5.13%, which was at a spread of 82 bps over Treasury yield with similar maturity, the tightest spread achieved by the lender, per bankers.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Nishit Navin; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Janane Venkatraman and Devika Syamnath)

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

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

SBI Chairperson Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said at an industry event that the bank has requested the RBI to consider allowing acquisition financing, starting with large listed companies.

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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MUMBAI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency said on Saturday it had opened a criminal case against industrialist Anil Ambani and his company Reliance Communications Ltd RLCM.NS following a complaint by India's largest bank about alleged fraud.

State Bank of India SBI.NS alleged that Anil Ambani, the younger brother of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and Reliance Communications defrauded the bank, causing 30 billion Indian rupees ($344 million) of losses.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation conducted search operations in Mumbai at Anil Ambani's house and the offices of the now insolvent Reliance Communications, the agency said in a press statement.

The agency said Anil Ambani and his company misused and diverted bank funds for purposes other than what was agreed.

A spokesperson for Ambani and Reliance Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An email query to SBI was not answered immediately.

Last month, India's Enforcement Directorate also searched 35 locations linked to Reliance Group as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering and siphoning of public funds, a government source told Reuters.

Reliance Group did not respond to a request for comment at the time, but a source at the group denied the allegations.

($1 = 87.3260 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay. Editing by Mark Potter)

(([email protected]; 9920092491; Reuters Messaging: Twitter: @jaysh88))

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) MTNL.NS has defaulted on loan repayments worth 86.59 billion rupees ($990.48 million) to a group of seven public sector banks, the state-run telecom company said on Monday.

In July, MTNL had disclosed defaults of 85.85 billion rupees to the same lenders.

The default includes 77.94 billion rupees in principal and 8.65 billion rupees in overdue interest to lenders including Union Bank of India UNBK.NS, Bank of India BOI.NS, Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS.

The debt-laden operator, which has long struggled with falling subscriber numbers, mounting losses and shrinking relevance in India’s highly competitive telecom market, has been surviving largely on government support and debt roll-overs.

MTNL’s total debt has risen to 345.77 billion rupees ($3.96 billion) as of July 31, from 344.84 billion rupees in June-end, which also includes sovereign-guaranteed bonds and loans from the Department Of Telecommunications.

($1 = 87.4225 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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** At least 11 analysts raise PT for India's biggest lender State Bank of India SBI.NS; median PT at 950 rupees vs 928 rupees a month ago -- data compiled by LSEG

** Co beats Q1 profit estimates, driven by near tripling of treasury profits and curtailed expenses

** SBI trading 2.3% higher at 822 rupees; top gainer on Nifty 50 index .NSEI

MACRO TAILWINDS, ASSET QUALITY DRIVE OUTLOOK FOR SBI

** Bobcaps ("Buy", revises PT to 1,013 rupees from 989 rupees) says SBI's healthy business growth, strong asset quality support its outlook

** Emkay ("Buy", PT unchanged at 975 rupees) positive on public sector banks in general on growth trajectory, margin resilience, treasury gains and NPA recoveries

** Phillip Capital ("Buy", hikes PT to 900 rupees from 880 rupees) sees pressure points building up in terms of margin decline triggered by RBI rate cut, normalisation of credit cost going ahead

** Jefferies ("Buy" raises PT to 970 rupees from 960 rupees) says with management change behind, improving macro trends and collections should ease concerns. Risks in small and medium enterprises/mid-corporate book likely to recede

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

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Aug 8 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• SBI DOMESTIC NIM FOR Q1 FY26 3.02%

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];))

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)

(([email protected]; [email protected]))

July 25 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - RUMA DEY APPOINTED DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS

Source text: ID:nBSE4LDp48

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];))

July 24 (Reuters) - India's SBI Life Insurance Company SBIL.NS posted a rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, aided by healthy premium from policy renewals.

The firm's profit rose 14% to 5.94 billion rupees ($68.75 million) for the quarter ended June 30 from 5.20 billion rupees a year earlier.

($1 = 86.3950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

July 23 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - PARMINDER SINGH APPOINTED DEPUTY MD

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - RUMA DEY APPOINTED DEPUTY MD (OSD) CORPORATE CENTRE

Source text: ID:nBSE3cmmFN

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];))

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

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, July 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - State Bank of India SBI.NS looks like it's about to become a more frequent capital raiser. This week the country's largest lender, which is 57%-owned by New Delhi, sold 250 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) worth of shares. The rationale was to increase its equity ratios. Yet, even though the deal is India's largest-ever secondary stock placement to institutions, it hardly moves the needle. Ideally, a company wanting to bolster its balance sheet would trim dividends first. But the government wants state-run companies to bump up these payments by 25%.

Oddly, the bank doesn't appear to need to increase its capital. At 10.8%, its common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio is above the regulatory minimum of 8.8%. SBI Chair C.S. Setty said in May the bank has enough "firepower" as it stands to grow its loan book by up to 8 trillion rupees ($93 billion), or 19%.

The issue seems to be that SBI's CET1 ratio is below the 14% average for the Indian banking sector and even further behind the 16% and 18% buffers at privately held peers ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS. Since both those rivals trade at higher multiples to book than SBI, there's some logic to wanting to catch up.

The share sale doesn't get it very far, though. SBI has some $421 billion of risk-weighted assets, so the extra $2.9 billion only takes its CET1 ratio to 11.5%.

The additional capital has another effect of reducing the lender's return on equity: apply it to the most recent financial year, and the 17% ROE, per LSEG, would drop by just under a percentage point. That would, on paper, still leave it besting HDFC's 14% showing and lagging ICICI's 18%. But both are cranking out those numbers with much higher capital. Moreover, SBI's ROE is looking harder to sustain with bank credit growing at just over 9%, its slowest pace in three years.

Perhaps Setty and his executives are comfortable with only slightly narrowing its capital gap to peers. Assuming they're not, they have two options: sell more shares or sell more assets. Earlier this year, for example, SBI offloaded a 13% stake in Yes Bank YESB.NS to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T. The lender could follow that up with peddling its remaining 11% chunk in Yes, or selling or listing its general insurer and its asset management subsidiary.

That'll keep SBI and its bankers busy for a while.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

State Bank of India on July 21 said it had completed a sale of shares worth 250 billion rupees ($2.89 billion) to institutional investors. Books were covered 4.5 times, and foreign long-term investors bought 24% of the float, the lender said.

SBI priced the issue at 817 rupees per share, a 1.8% discount to the closing price of 831.70 rupees on July 16, IFR reported on July 18, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the transaction.

Demand for the transaction was led by domestic institutions, with state-backed Life Insurance Corporation of India committing 80 billion rupees, per IFR. Nomura, Marshall Wace, Millennium, HDFC Mutual Fund, Quant Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund also participated in the issue, the report added.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

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

July 21 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• APPROVED THE CLOSURE OF THE QIP ISSUE

• ISSUE PRICE OF 817.00 RUPEES PER EQUITY SHARE

• COMMITTEE MEETING UPDATE ON QIP

• ALLOCATES SHARES AT 817 RUPEES EACH

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];;))

By Ashwin Manikandan

July 18 (Reuters) - India's central bank is close to finalising rules for banks and financial institutions to disclose and manage risks from climate change, three sources aware of the matter said.

The move runs counter to several top global banks including JP Morgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and HSBC, which have decided to scale back their climate commitments with the re-election of climate-sceptic U.S. President Donald Trump being seen as a trigger.

Getting a better idea of how, and to what extent, money is flowing to green investments is a central part of global efforts to move to a low-carbon economy, with countries from the UK to Japan making such disclosures mandatory.

The Indian central bank's norms, which have been in the works since 2022, are expected to ask banks and financial institutions to make regular disclosures about climate-related risks in their loan portfolios along with mitigation strategies and targets, the sources said.

The disclosures are likely to be on a voluntary basis from fiscal year 2027 and then mandatory from fiscal year 2028. India's financial year runs from April till March.

Banks will also be asked to conduct periodic stress tests to gauge the impact of adverse climate events such as floods, heatwaves and cyclones on borrowers and the economy, based on a guidance note which the central bank is also likely to issue soon, the sources added.

All three sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak with media.

The RBI did not respond to an email from Reuters.

The central bank's decision to move forward with the rules has not been previously reported.

The Reserve Bank of India has previously recognised climate change as a source of major financial concern, and released a draft standard disclosure framework in February 2024 for public feedback.

“The signal from the central bank based on recent meetings is that the detailed norms are almost finalised and are expected very soon,” the first source said.

Many banks have already started collating data and setting targets to meet the disclosure standards, the source said.

Some large banks have put out tenders to bring in climate consultants to help them with the disclosures, according to public documents.

ASSESSING BORROWERS FOR CLIMATE RISK

The RBI's decision to move ahead with climate disclosures for its banks comes soon after India released a draft framework aimed at facilitating a greater flow of resources to climate-friendly sectors.

India is also gearing up to publish a new national emissions-reduction target ahead of the next round of global climate talks in Brazil in November.

India, the world's third largest polluter behind China and the United States, currently aims to achieve a net zero emissions target by 2070.

As part of the central bank's climate disclosure rules, banks will be required to calculate gross emissions of borrowers and disclose this information by asset classes and industries, according to the draft norms.

Such disclosures are expected to be included in their financial statements.

Separately, the central bank has also shared a 52-page draft note with large banks, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, prescribing a methodology to forecast and analyse the impact of adverse climate events as well as transition risks on borrowers' ability to repay loans.

The transition risks are those which emerge from the changing consumer behaviour, policy and technology changes, as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, as per the note.

While banks are preparing to disclose climate risk embedded in their loan portfolios, they do not expect these disclosures to impact loan pricing in the short term.

"As of now we don't have enough granular data to reliably price in these risks in our portfolios, but the long-term approach could be in that direction," said the second source, who is a banker at a state-owned lender.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Ira Dugal and Kim Coghill)

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July 16 (Reuters) - India's State Bank of India SBI.NS on Wednesday approved raising of up to 200 billion rupees ($2.33 billion) through bonds in fiscal year 2026.

($1 = 85.9275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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By Ashwin Manikandan and Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, July 15 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS is seeking senior creditor status to gain early rights on repayments in case of default or liquidation of the state-owned road authority's investment trust (InvIT), two sources aware of the matter told Reuters.

The lender, the country's largest, has written to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) seeking this status on its investments in National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), the sources said on Monday.

An InvIT is an investment vehicle that raises funds by issuing units. NHIT is the manager of NHAI's InvITs.

The sources requested anonymity as the talks are private. SBI, NHAI and NHIT did not reply to a Reuters mail seeking comment.

The move follows NHAI's plan to raise 200 billion rupees ($2.33 billion) by monetising its road assets through InvITs, according to Mint, a business daily.

It has already raised 460 billion rupees through four rounds of InvITs since 2020, including a 183-billion-rupee round in March, India's biggest road monetisation exercise to date.

SBI has significant exposure to India's road sector including projects backed by NHAI's InvITs. In 2018, it signedan agreement with NHAI for a 10-year loan unsecured loan of nearly $3 billion.

Under current rules, InvITs are not governed by India's bankruptcy laws, and typically, the unitholders of these trusts hold priority in the repayment hierarchy, one of the sources said.

SBI has flagged the lack of creditor protection under these regulations for quite some time, the source added.

"The lender is not at all happy with the arrangement and has been discussing the tweaks," the second source said.

As part of the monetisation, NHAI transfers the ownership and operational responsibilities of completed highway stretches to the InvIT, which issues units to investors who are paid from the toll revenues.

InvITs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country's capital markets regulator.

The total assets under management of five listed and 16 unlisted InvITs in India exceeded 7 trillion rupees as of March-end, according to data from Bharat InvITs Association.

($1 = 85.8430 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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July 11 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• SALE OF SHARES IN TAMILNADU TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• SALE OF 2.02% STAKE IN TAMILNADU TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Source text: ID:nBSE9pVGB1

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds details throughout

July 10 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender by assets, is preparing to sell as much as 250 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) of shares to institutional investors as early as next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The plans haven't been finalised and are subject to change, the Bloomberg report said.

SBI did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The bank's board had approved the sale in May.

Indian state-owned banks will raise around 450 billion rupees through qualified institutional placement of shares in the 2025-26 financial year, a government source told reporters on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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July 3 (Reuters) - Reliance Infrastructure Ltd RLIN.NS:

• SBI ACTION ON RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS HAS NO IMPACT ON RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE

Source text: ID:nBSEb2jzw

Further company coverage: RLIN.NS

(([email protected];))

July 2 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Communications RLCM.NS said late on Tuesday that State Bank of India SBI.NS has decided to report its loan account as "fraud" in a case dating back to August 2016.

The state-run lender would also report the name of Reliance Communications' former director Anil Dhirajlal Ambani to the Reserve Bank of India, the company said, under rules that require key management personnel of fraud accounts to be reported to the regulator.

The firm, which is undergoing insolvency proceedings, is a group firm of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

Anil is the brother of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who chairs the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries RELI.NS.

State Bank of India and Anil Ambani did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))

June 27 (Reuters) - Paisalo Digital Ltd PISA.NS:

• PAISALO DIGITAL LTD - SIGNING OF CO-LENDING LOAN AGREEMENT WITH STATE BANK OF INDIA

• PAISALO DIGITAL LTD - EXTENSION OF ALREADY UP-AND-RUNNING CO-LENDING LOAN PLATFORM WITH SBI

Source text: ID:nBSE7lq77n

Further company coverage: PISA.NS

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By Jayshree P Upadhyay

MUMBAI, June 25 (Reuters) - The National Stock Exchange of India has offered to pay the country's markets regulator 13.88 billion rupees ($160 million) to settle a legal dispute so it can proceed with a long-delayed initial public offering, three sources said.

The sum is set to be largest settlement made with the markets regulator in India's history.

India's biggest bourse and the world's most active derivatives exchange has been embroiled in litigation with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since 2019 when it was fined 11 billion rupees for failing to provide equitable access to all its trading members.

They are negotiating an out-of-court settlement, according to two of the sources.

All three sources, who have direct knowledge of the discussions, were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified.

The regulator is likely to grant the exchange a certificate stating it has no objection to an IPO within three months, said one source.

"If all goes as per expected timelines, NSE's IPO could hit the markets before May next year," said another source.

NSE declined to comment. SEBI did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

The cash-rich Mumbai-headquarted NSE has been trying to list since 2016 to enable some of its biggest investors to exit.

But has been prevented by the regulator's investigations and then the fine. NSE challenged the penalty in court which ordered certain parts of SEBI's order to be set aside, which the regulator later appealed at the nation's top court.

Among NSE's largest investors are the Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS with a 10.72% stake and the State Bank of India SBI.NS with 7.76%, while Morgan Stanley MS.N owns 1.58% and the Canada Pension Investment Plan Board has 1.60%.

Its main domestic rival, BSE Ltd, listed in 2017.

SEBI is conducting an inspection of the exchange's systems and processes before the no-objection certificate is issued, said two of the sources.

SEBI wrote to the NSE in February flagging concerns about the bourse's internal processes, including how management is appointed and remunerated, its failure to appoint a chairperson and technology shortfalls.

The settlement, if accepted by the regulator, will need the approval of India's top court, two of the sources said.

($1 = 85.9520 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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June 24 (Reuters) - BLS E-Services Ltd BLSE.NS:

• BLS E-SERVICES LTD - SUBSIDIARY TO BUY CSPS OF SBI & HDFC BANK

• BLS E-SERVICES LTD - DEAL VALUED AT APPROX. 65 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE1r9ZDJ

Further company coverage: BLSE.NS

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