State Bank Of India

By Vivek Kumar M and Haripriya Suresh

BENGALURU, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Indian companies defied a secondary market slump to raise 2.43 trillion rupees ($25.27 billion) in the first half of fiscal 2027, a record for the period, data showed on Thursday, as domestic investors sought fresh opportunities to deploy capital.

Not only did equity fundraising jump 75% year-on-year in April-September, according to PRIME Database Group, but average listing gains also jumped to 19% from 7%.

In contrast, the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI inched up 1.3% in the period.

Pranav Haldea, managing director of PRIME Database Group, cited two reasons for the "unusual" divergence between the primary and secondary markets — a backlog of initial public offerings over the last 2-3 years and strong domestic liquidity.

The half-year had long-awaited IPOs from big-ticket companies, including bourse operator NSE's $2.3 billion issue, India's second-largest on record, the country's largest asset manager SBI Funds Management's SBIA.NS $1.03 billion IPO and hospital chain operator Manipal Health Enterprises' MNIA.NS $960 million offering.

Mainboard IPOs raised a record 942.05 billion rupees across 78 issues, 35% higher than the previous record set in the first half of fiscal 2026, data showed.

In April, India's market regulator granted a one-time extension for IPOs deferred due to weak market sentiment from the Middle East war, whose approvals were lapsing between April and September, adding to the surge.

INVESTMENTS AND DIVESTMENTS

Investors also looked for niche opportunities, with a number of listings coming from sectors thinly represented on Indian bourses, according to Yatin Singh, CEO — investment banking at Emkay Global Financial Services, offering them a way into newer corners of the economy.

Some of these include furniture rental platform Rentomojo RENT.NS, supply chain asset pooling company LEAP India LEAN.NS and Asset Reconstruction Company (India) ASSR.NS, among others.

Meanwhile, the government's spree of divestments from companies such as Life Insurance Corp of India LIFI.NS and Coal India COAL.NS pushed secondary stock offerings fivefold higher to 553.37 billion rupees.

Of this, LIC's 6.5% stake sale alone accounted for about 314 billion rupees.

Qualified institutional placements also jumped 36% to 615.53 billion rupees, led by Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS.

The rush is showing little sign of slowing down. Nearly 250 companies are in the pipeline to raise about 4.65 trillion rupees through IPOs, according to PRIME Database.

This includes Jio Platforms' $3.8 billion IPO, Danish brewer Carlsberg's India business, and hotel aggregator Oyo's parent Prism.

"Things are not going to change dramatically in the second half unless any fundamental aspects, globally or in India, change materially from where we are right now," Singh added.

($1 = 96.1625 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Haripriya Suresh in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Adds details and background throughout

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Asset Reconstruction Company (India) ASSR.NS, the country's first asset reconstruction firm to go public, rose as much as 1.8% in their trading debut on Thursday, after opening flat to their IPO price, following its 7.33 billion-rupee IPO.($76.48 million)

Here are some key details:

• The stock was trading at 140.23 rupees as of 10:26 am IST, after opening at its issue price of 139 rupees on the National Stock Exchange of India, valuing the company at 45.56 billion rupees.

• ARCIL's IPO was subscribed 20.10 times, led by qualified institutional buyers who bid for 52.65 times the shares reserved for them.

• Non-institutional investors subscribed 15.69 times and retail investors bid for 3.39 times their allotted portion.

• The issue was entirely an offer for sale, with key stakeholders Avenue India Resurgence and State Bank of India SBI.NS offloading 24.82 million and 10.96 million shares, respectively.

• The company raised 2.2 billion rupees from anchor investors ahead of the public issue, including Goldman Sachs India Asset Management, WhiteOak Capital and Bandhan Mutual Fund.

• ARCIL, founded in 2002, acquires non-performing loans from lenders and recovers them through restructuring and settlements. Its assets under management stood at 201.5 billion rupees as of March 31, 2026.

($1 = 95.8375 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Payel Das; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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Sept 11 (Reuters) - India's Asset Reconstruction Company's (ARCIL) ASSR.NS 7.33 billion rupee ($77.58 million) initial public offering was subscribed 10.67 times, as of 2:36 p.m. IST on Friday, the final day of bidding, exchange data showed.

Shares are likely to list on September 17, making ARCIL India's first listed asset reconstruction company.

Here are more details:

• The company received orders for 393.96 million shares, against 36.9 million on offer.

• Qualified institutional buyers bid for 29.22 times the shares set aside for them, while retail and non-institutional investors subscribed 5.7 times and 2.2 times, respectively

• The IPO is entirely an offer for sale, where existing shareholders fully or partially offload their stake, of up to 52.73 million shares at a price band of 132 rupees-139 rupees per share, as per the red herring prospectus

• Co seeks valuation of 45.16 billion ​rupees at the upper end of the price band

• Its top shareholders Avenue India Resurgence, owned by New York-headquartered investment firm Avenue Capital Group, and India's top lender State Bank of India SBI.NS plan to offload 24.82 million and 10.96 million shares, respectively

• ARCIL, which was established in 2002, acquires stressed assets from banks and financial institutions and seeks to recover value through restructuring, settlements and enforcement processes.

• Anchor investors, including Goldman Sachs India Asset Management, WhiteOak Capital and Bandhan Mutual Fund, invested 2.2 billion rupees in the IPO ahead of its public launch.

• ARCIL's assets under management stood at 201.5 billion rupees as of March-end, while collections fell to 34.84 billion rupees in fiscal 2026 from 38.83 billion rupees a year earlier.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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Rewrites paragraph 1 & 2

Sept 11 (Reuters) - National Stock Exchange of India NSEI.NS is seeking a valuation of up to 4.42 trillion rupees ($46.31 billion) through its long-awaited IPO, which launches next week and could rank among India's biggest-ever listings.

NSE set a price band of 1,700-1,785 rupees ($17.81-$18.70) per share for the IPO, a public filing showed early Friday. The targeted valuation, at the top of the range, would make NSE one of the country's most valuable companies and within reach of Nasdaq NDAQ.O and London Stock Exchange Group LSEG.L.

India's largest bourse had on Thursday cut the size of its IPO by more than 15% as some top investors trimmed the number of shares they intended to sell, which a source told Reuters was primarily on account of a lower-than-expected price band.

The $2.36 billion IPO will likely trail an upcoming offering by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio expected to raise $3.8 billion and Hyundai Motor India's HYUN.NS $3.3 billion issue in 2024.

The offering comes after years of delays and at a time when India's IPO market is regaining momentum after a sluggish start to the year.

NSE's share sale will open for subscription on September 17 and close on September 21, with anchor investor bidding scheduled for September 16. The stock is expected to list on or about September 24.

NSE, the country's biggest exchange by trading volumes, dominates the derivatives market and has benefited from a surge in retail trading in the world's most populous country.

PRICING LOWER THAN EXPECTED

NSE is not selling new shares in the IPO and will not receive proceeds. Existing investors including State Bank of India SBI.NS and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are offloading a total 126.4 million shares, down from the 148.91 million planned earlier.

SBI is selling the most shares at about 16 million, while its unit SBI Capital Markets was added to the list of selling shareholders. MS Strategic (Mauritius) - a Morgan Stanley fund, is selling 31% fewer shares at 11 million.

The primary reason for the reduced share sales is the lower-than-expected price band, with shareholders believing they will get a better valuation in the secondary market post listing, a source told Reuters on Thursday ahead of the official pricing announcement.

In an informal market where unlisted shares of NSE trade, the price has ranged from 2,000 rupees to 2,100 rupees, according to recent deals.

Tighter market rules have weighed on the likely pricing of the issue, three sources said.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India last year announced tighter curbs on retail participation in the options trading market. Tighter bank funding curbs, higher taxes on derivatives trading and India's newly launched closing auction session have also weighed on trading volumes.

In the quarter ended June 30, NSE's net profit rose 6.7% to 31.2 billion rupees, while revenue from operations rose 13% to 45.6 billion rupees.

($1 = 95.4400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa, Kanjyik Ghosh, Vivek Kumar M, Chris Thomas; Editing by Diti Pujara and Shailesh Kuber)

(([email protected]; https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandini-monnappa-8a37b013b/;))

State Bank of India received strike notices from the United Forum of Bank Unions, representing seven employee and officer unions, for September 11, September 28-30 and a continuous strike from October 26, 2026. The bank said it had made arrangements for normal functioning at its branches and offices, although work was likely to be affected on the strike dates. SBI's standalone total income was about ₹5.52 lakh crore in FY26, with retail banking accounting for roughly 48% of its business mix. More than 90% of its operations were domestic, while gross non-performing assets stood at 1.47% in the June 2026 quarter.

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Sept 7 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• NOTICE OF STRIKE SERVED BY UNITED FORUM OF BANK UNIONS

• IT IS LIKELY THAT WORK IN BANK MAY BE IMPACTED BY THE STRIKE

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];))

Aug 31 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• BINOD KUMAR MISHRA TO RETIRE AS DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR (SPECIAL PROJECTS - OPR) ON AUG 31, 2026

Source text:

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];))

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Union Bank of India UNBK.NS has accepted bids worth $600 million for a public sale of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds through its Dubai branch, its first such issuance in more than 12 years, two merchant bankers said on Tuesday.

The bank raised $300 million each through three-year and five-year papers at a coupon of 5.23% and 5.4170%, respectively, the lender said in a notice to stock exchanges.

The three-year bonds were priced at 93 basis points above U.S. Treasuries, while the five-year tenor is priced at 102 bps above Treasuries, sharply below the bank's initial guidance of 120 bps and 130 bps.

The lender is the third state-run bank to tap the dollar debt market through the public route since June, when the central bank announced a discounted hedging facility that lowers the cost of borrowing for financial institutions.

India's top two state-run lenders, State Bank of India SBI.NS and Bank of Baroda BOB.NS, have raised $500 million and $700 million, respectively, through a public sale, with the former also adding $600 million through the private route.

Separately, IDFC First Bank IDFB.NS also raised $350 million through a private placement of five-year securities through its GIFT City branch, a week after the lender raised $600 million through three-year debt.

Banks have been scrambling to complete their dollar issuances, with most funds being used to provide leverage to customers who will deposit them under the RBI's discounted dollar deposit scheme.

Earlier this month, the RBI said the window provided to banks for hedging non-resident deposits would end a month early, on August 31.

The rush has prompted a wave of offshore fundraising by Indian lenders, which raised $11.25 billion through bond issuances from June to August.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected];))

By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indian lenders are rushing dollar loan and bond issues over the next two weeks after the central bank unexpectedly advanced the end date for an FX swap facility that banks were using for hedging exposure to deposits raised from diaspora.

As part of a raft of measures to boost inflows, lenders were permitted to use these overseas borrowings to offer loans to non-resident Indians. Banks' overseas fundraising had also been subsidised.

Now, with the Reserve Bank of India announcing the closure of the forex swap window for August 31, a month earlier than initially planned, Indian private and state-run banks are on track to raise at least $5 billion through a combination of bonds and loans, four bankers said.

"Some of the fund raising plans have been brought forward to utilize the last few days," Akshay Naik, India head of debt capital markets at Citi, said.

"We will have one of the busiest windows for the next 6-8 days from India. Few institutions who are not ready may need to drop their plan if it was solely meant for FCNR leverage."

Large private-sector lenders such as ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS are in talks to raise about $1.5 billion each via dollar bonds and loans, while peers including Axis Bank AXBK.NS, YES Bank YESB.NS, RBL Bank RATB.NS and Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS are planning to raise at least $500 million each through overseas debt markets, bankers said.

State-run lenders State Bank of India SBI.NS, Bank of Baroda BOB.NS, Punjab National Bank PNBK.NS, Canara Bank CNBK.NS, Union Bank of India UNBK.NS, Bank of India BOI.NS and Central Bank of India CBI.NS are targeting dollar raises of $250 million to $500 million each, with the larger banks likely to target bigger issues, the bankers said.

None of the lenders replied to Reuters emails seeking comment.

All the bankers declined to be named as the discussions are private.

BANKS ON TRACK FOR RECORD DOLLAR FUNDRAISING

Indian lenders have raised a combined $5.93 billion through dollar bond sales and loans so far this year, according to LSEG data through August 11.

The tally has climbed by another $1.2 billion, following debt sales by two large state-run lenders last week.

Over the last 15 years, banks' annual foreign borrowing topped $6 billion on three occasions, including in 2013, when the RBI had opened a swap window.

"Would expect $5-7 billion of additional bond and loan issuances for the remainder of year," Naik said.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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

By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - India's Bank of Baroda BOB.NS is considering dollar funding, a day after its peer State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets, received strong demand for its foreign-currency bonds, two merchant bankers said on Thursday.

BOB, India's second largest state-run lender by assets, plans to raise funds through a dual-tranche bond issue maturing in three years and five years, and has provided initial guidance.

The bank has offered a spread of 120 basis points above U.S. Treasury for the three-year option and 130 bps on the five-year sale, the bankers added, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.

BOB did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

"Ideally, they are eyeing $500 million through each maturity, but if the cutoffs are aggressive, they could choose to upsize one of the maturities," one of the bankers quoted above said.

Indian banks have been making a beeline for dollar issues after the Reserve Bank of India's swap facility announced in June made overseas borrowing cheaper.

State Bank of India SBI.NS on Wednesday raised $500 million through a five-year issue at 5.25% coupon payable semi-annually. The issue was sold at a spread of 88 bps over Treasuries, sharply lower from a guidance of 120 bps, with bidding nearly touching $2.5 billion.

Private peers such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank also raised funds through dollar bonds in June and July.

Bank of Baroda will issue these papers through its branch in International Financial Service Centre Banking unit at GIFT City. The proceeds will be used towards funding requirements of the bank's head office as well as foreign branches, along with general corporate purposes.

The bonds will be rated BBB, BBB– and BBB+ by S&P, Fitch Ratings and CareEdge Ratings, in line with the issuer's ratings.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender, drew strong demand in its return to the public dollar bond market after nearly a year, with pricing tightening sharply from initial guidance, three merchant bankers said on Wednesday.

SBI raised $500 million through a five-year dollar bond issued via its London branch, the lender said in a stock exchange filing late on Tuesday.

These bonds will be priced at a spread of 88 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, sharply below initial guidance of 120 bps. The notes carry a coupon of 5.25%, payable semi-annually.

The final spread was broadly in line with CreditSights' expectation of 90 basis points, although the research firm expects it to tighten further to around 80 basis points in the secondary market.

Spreads on dollar bonds issued by Indian borrowers have widened in recent weeks on expectations of heavy supply following the Reserve Bank of India's swap concession window, while demand has been tempered by attractive rates on foreign-currency deposits.

"As we had anticipated, some of this spread premium has begun to fade as supply is absorbed... We have an outperform recommendation on SBI," CreditSights analysts said in a note.

The lender witnessed tightest pricing, after ICICI Bank sold notes at 100 bps, while HDFC Bank sold notes at a spread of 90 bps over Treasuries.

SBI had planned to raise $1 billion through a public dollar bond issue in June, but deferred the sale due to higher borrowing costs following heavy issuance by Indian lenders.

The bank subsequently raised $600 million through a private placement of three-year dollar bonds at a spread of 100 basis points over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).

The issue comes at a time when Indian banks are making a beeline for dollar issues after the RBI's swap facility announced in June made overseas borrowing cheaper.

Large private lenders, including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have raised funds through dollar bonds in June and July.

Meanwhile, bankers expect SBI to tap the market again in a few weeks for raising dollars, as the board has approved raising of up to $2 billion through bonds sold in dollar or any other major currency in this financial year.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, the largest lender in the country, is tapping the dollar debt market through the public issue and plans to raise funds through a sale of five-year bonds, two merchant bankers said on Tuesday.

SBI is likely to raise at least $500 million through the issue, with the final size dependent on investor demand. The initial price guidance has been set at 120 basis points over U.S. Treasuries.

The lender has begun marketing the bonds and is expected to complete the sale before the end of the week, the bankers said, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.

SBI had planned to raise $1 billion through a dollar bond sale in June but deferred the issuance after borrowing costs rose due to heavy supply from Indian lenders.

The lender did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment outside business hours.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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** State Bank of India SBI.NS shares slip 0.18% to 1,083.40 ahead of Q1 results

** Nomura expects loan growth to remain intact for SBI with stable asset quality; monitoring NIM trajectory and credit cost outlook

** Jefferies says SBI targets keeping NIM stable in quarter by repricing loans

** SBI's high proportion of low-cost current and savings account gives it funding-cost advantage vs peers, helping maintain NIM around 3%--Nuvama

** Nuvama expects SBI to benefit from RBI's measures on foreign currency non-resident deposits

** YTD, stock up 10.47% vs 3.13% decline in Nifty Bank Index .NSEBANK

(Reporting by Saikeerthi in Bengaluru)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's banks may need to take some lessons in layoffs from Wall Street. Staffing levels at HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, ICICI, Axis AXBK.NS and Kotak Mahindra KTKM.NS fell by up to 4% during the 12 months to the end of March after years of increases. It's largely the result of businesses maturing, revenue growth slowing and more tasks getting automated. Goldman Sachs GS.N, Morgan Stanley MS.N and others routinely dump more. But India generally frowns on making people redundant. AI is likely to force its financial services firms – and others – to look past the taboo and embrace deeper cuts.

Western lenders and investment banks tend to slash their ranks when a downturn hits. But some, like Goldman, also oust those performing poorly – as much as 5% of employees – each year. By that metric, their Indian peers are only dabbling. Moreover, natural attrition seems to account for most, if not all, of the reductions.

That does the job for now as the businesses weaken somewhat. Total revenue at $41 billion Axis for the financial year to the end of March grew at nearly a quarter of its pace the previous year, while Kotak's fell slightly. Yet the compensation ratio for both, and for $122 billion HDFC, stayed flat, suggesting the softly-softly downsizing is working, Breakingviews calculates, using data disclosed by the lenders. Increased outsourcing of tasks like loan collection and IT management weighs on headcount too.

The rise of automation, though, whether due to AI or less advanced technology, is likely to increase pressure to reduce staff numbers. A substantial share of new business, for example, now comes from attracting new retail customers digitally, reducing the need to keep expanding and staffing branches. And AI capabilities are making humans increasingly redundant at routine functions like fraud monitoring and data analysis.

At Axis Bank, where staff numbers fell 3%, CEO Amitabh Chaudhry has set targets that include using AI to automate and augment half of its customer calls in the current financial year. HDFC, which reported a 2% workforce reduction, is applying AI to retail credit decisions and trade transactions.

As banks commit to adopting AI across a growing chunk of their operations, more job functions will have to go, though they are likely to find more productive jobs for some. The impact will eventually show up at government-owned lenders like State Bank of India SBI.NS and intensify a slow-burn shrinkage underway there for years.

Their executives are likely to rely on natural attrition, retirements and reduced hiring for as long as possible. But the bigger the impact of AI and the more their businesses mature, the greater the chance that they will have to follow Wall Street's lead by breaking with convention to give more people the boot.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank reported an up to 4% year-on-year fall in their employee counts as of March 31.

In its annual report for the 12 months ended March, released on July 11, HDFC said the number of permanent employees on its rolls stood at 211,178, 2% lower than the level as on March 31, 2025. ICICI's filings show a 4% fall in the metric to 124,029, while Axis and Kotak reported declines of 3% and 1% respectively.

(Editing by Antony Currie; Production by Aditya Srivastav and Ujjaini Dutta)

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

MUMBAI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS, HSBC HSBA.L and ICICI Bank ICBK.NS have garnered the largest amounts under a central bank scheme to attract dollar deposits from non-resident Indians, government data showed on Monday.

HSBC's India unit raised about $6.14 billion, the most among lenders, while State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, garnered about $4.12 billion between June 5 and July 30, the data showed.

ICICI Bank led private-sector peers with about $3.7 billion in deposits under the scheme. HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, the country's largest and third-largest private lenders respectively, raised about $1.5 billion each.

The central bank's measures, the likes of which were last deployed in 2013 to deal with the Federal Reserve's taper tantrum, were rolled out following a period of sustained depreciation pressure on the rupee.

The currency had declined to a record low in May but has steadied after the measures were announced in June.

The steps are intended to "attract stable foreign currency inflows, strengthen India's balance of payments and help ease recent pressures on the Indian Rupee," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the lower house of the Parliament on Monday.

Combined, banks' stock of overseas foreign-currency deposits has grown by nearly $28 billion between June 5 and July 30, reflecting the fresh deposits raised under the scheme.

The Reserve Bank of India said on Saturday the scheme had attracted total inflows of $36.7 billion. The difference likely reflects existing foreign-currency deposits that were rebooked under the scheme.

Outstanding foreign currency non-resident (bank), or FCNR(B), deposits rose to $60.55 billion from $32.56 billion on June 5.

"The pace of capital inflows under FCNR(B), external commercial borrowings and overseas foreign currency borrowings has been much stronger than expected. Total inflows across instruments are likely to be $90 billion, if not higher," IDFC First Bank said in a note.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Jaspreet Kalra in Mumbai; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters) - Strong demand for India's largest state-run lender's perpetual bond issue is expected to encourage similar offerings from other banks, four merchant bankers said on Friday.

Several banks also have outstanding perpetual bonds with call options due this financial year, which could prompt them to raise fresh perpetual debt, they said.

Perpetual bonds are debt securities that do not have a maturity date. Most such issues give investors an exit via call options, most commonly after end of five years.

Earlier this week, State Bank of India SBI.NS raised 46.91 billion rupees ($492 million), through sale of Basel III compliant additional Tier I perpetual bonds, with a call option at end of five years.

"A successful SBI issuance could provide an important pricing benchmark and encourage other banks to evaluate AT-1 issuances during the year," said Saurav Ghosh, co-founder of Jiraaf, an online debt trading platform.

Banks are likely to continue strengthening their capital buffers to support credit growth and balance-sheet expansion, he said.

SBI will pay an annual coupon of 7.75% to the investors and drew bids worth over 60 billion rupees with provident funds, pension funds, mutual funds and some lenders subscribing to the securities.

"SBI's cut-off broadly reflects prevailing market expectations and indicates that institutional demand remained resilient across investor segments despite heightened market volatility," said Venkatakrishnan Srinivasan, founder and managing partner of debt advisory firm Rockfort Fincap.

Five large state-run banks including SBI have call option due for perpetual bonds worth 307 billion rupees over the next eight months of this fiscal.

SBI has 140 billion rupees in bonds due for a call option, while Union Bank of India and Canara Bank will offer an exit to investors on debt worth 60 billion rupees and 40 billion rupees respectively.

Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda also have perpetual bonds worth an aggregate of around 67 billion rupees, for which the call options are due later this year.

($1 = 95.4350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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MUMBAI, July 29 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS has accepted bids worth 46.91 billion rupees ($490.04 million) for sale of Basel III-compliant additional Tier I perpetual bonds, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The nation's largest lender will pay an annual coupon of 7.75% on this issue and had invited coupon and commitment bids earlier in the day, they said.

The issue will have a call option at the end of five years.

On Friday, Reuters reported SBI's plans to tap the perpetual debt route, which would be the first such issuance in 2026.

SBI did not immediately reply 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 = 95.7275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra)

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MUMBAI, July 28 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS plans to raise 50 billion rupees ($521.38 million), including 20 billion rupees of greenshoe option through the sale of Basel III-compliant additional Tier I perpetual bonds, three bankers said on Tuesday.

The nation's largest lender has invited coupon and commitment bids for the issue on Wednesday, they said.

The issue will have a call option at the end of five years.

On Friday, Reuters reported SBI's plans to tap the perpetual debt route, which would be the first such issuance in 2026.

SBI did not immediately reply 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 = 95.9000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Priyanka G)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, July 24 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS is set to become the first bank to tap the market for perpetual bonds in 2026, with plans to raise 50 billion rupees ($517.76 million) within the next two weeks, three bankers familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The country's largest lender is in advanced talks with merchant bankers and investors to issue Basel III-compliant additional Tier I perpetual bonds with a five-year call option, the bankers said.

"If things work out, the bank should complete the issuance next week or at least before the central bank's monetary policy decision on August 5," one of the bankers said.

The bankers requested anonymity as the matters are private, while SBI did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

State-run Canara Bank was the last lender to tap the market, raising 35 billion rupees through Basel III-compliant additional Tier I perpetual bonds at a 7.55% coupon in November 2025.

SBI last issued perpetual bonds in October 2024, raising 50 billion rupees at a 7.98% coupon with a 10-year call option.

In June, SBI's board approved raising up to 600 billion rupees through debt this financial year, including long-term infrastructure bonds, Basel III-compliant additional Tier I securities and Tier II instruments.

($1 = 96.5700 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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Updates with closing levels

By Vivek Kumar M

July 21 (Reuters) - SBI Funds Management SBIA.NS ended 6.2% higher in its stock market debut on Tuesday, valuing the firm at nearly $13 billion, as investors bet on growth in the country's $853 billion asset management industry.

Shares of India's largest asset manager closed at 609.75 rupees, valuing the firm at 1.24 trillion rupees ($12.89 billion) and making it the country's second-most valuable listed fund manager.

Peers ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company IICL.NS and HDFC Asset Management Company HDFA.NS were valued at 1.56 trillion rupees and 1.11 trillion rupees, respectively.

SBI Funds, a joint venture between State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender, and Amundi AMUN.PA, Europe's biggest asset manager, oversaw assets worth 12.5 trillion rupees as of March 2026.

SBI Funds' $1.03 billion IPO, India's biggest so far this year, attracted about $31 billion of bids last week, including $278.5 million from anchor investors such as BlackRock and sovereign wealth funds from Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Norway.

Amundi CEO Valerie Baudson said the European firm will remain a long-term shareholder of SBI Funds.

The listing marks the start of a busier second half for large IPOs in India's primary market after the activity slowed due to a surge in crude prices linked to the Iran conflict.

SBI Funds listed short of expectations as analysts had estimated debut gains of 12% to 13%.

India's Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.2% on Tuesday, weighed down by firmer crude oil prices as the Gulf conflict escalated.

Analysts led by Emkay Global Financial Services' Avinash Singh said India's growing middle class was embracing mutual funds, positioning SBI AMC to expand its dominance in the sector.

India has seen IPOs worth about $5 billion so far in 2026, below a record $21.8 billion last year, LSEG-compiled data showed.

Some 251 companies, including Reliance Jio and the National Stock Exchange of India, are in the IPO pipeline, seeking to raise 4.93 trillion rupees, according to capital market data provider PRIME Database.

($1 = 96.2350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M, additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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adds IPO price in paragraph 4

By Vivek Kumar M

July 16 (Reuters) - India's SBI Funds Management drew bids worth 3 trillion Indian rupees ($31.14 billion), making the asset manager's $1.03 billion initial public offering (IPO) the country's fourth-most-subscribed issue.

The subscription numbers include $278.5 million raised from anchor investors, including BlackRock and sovereign wealth funds from Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Norway.

The IPO, which closed on Thursday, marked a strong comeback for India's primary market after a subdued first half of the year.

The IPO offer price was set at 574 Indian rupees ($5.96) per share, State Bank of India said in a statement.

India is set for a busy pipeline of public offerings in the second half of the year, with mega listings from Reliance Jio and National Stock Exchange expected before the end of 2026.

SBI Funds Management, a joint venture between the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) SBI.NS and Europe's biggest asset manager Amundi AMUN.PA, is India's largest asset manager, overseeing funds worth 12.5 trillion rupees ($131 billion) as of March 2026.

The demand for the offering was led by institutional investors, who bid for $25 billion worth of shares, 140 times the number of shares on offer for them, exchange data showed.

The portion set aside for retail investors and SBI's shareholders was subscribed 3.6 times and 9.5 times, respectively.

The stock is expected to begin trading on July 21.

SBI Funds' IPO stands behind the public offerings of Reliance Power RPOL.NS, LG Electronics India LGEL.NS and Bajaj Housing Finance BAJO.NS in terms of quantum of bids received, data from PRIME Database showed.

The asset manager is well placed to capitalise on its market leadership, strong distribution network and robust profitability, analysts at Aditya Birla Money said in a note dated July 14.

So far this year, India has seen IPOs worth nearly $4 billion, sharply below last year's $21.8 billion. However, the activity is expected to pick up in the second half of 2026, with 251 companies planning to raise 4.93 trillion rupees ($51.7 billion) in the pipeline, as per PRIME Database.

"Heavy bidding (for SBI Funds IPO) signals that investors are willing to commit fresh capital to quality franchises, which can help revive sentiment for the upcoming (IPO) pipeline," said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and chief executive officer at HDFC Securities.

($1 = 96.3450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Jonathan Ananda)

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Updates throughout with bids, comment, background

By Vivek Kumar M

July 15 (Reuters) - India's SBI Funds Management saw its $1.03 billion initial public offering (IPO) fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Wednesday, as investors endorsed the asset manager's extensive distribution network and the potential of the country's expanding mutual fund market.

SBI Funds Management, a joint venture between the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) SBI.NS and Europe's biggest asset manager Amundi AMUN.PA, managed funds worth 12.5 trillion rupees ($131 billion) as of March 2026.

The IPO, which values India's largest asset manager at 1.17 trillion rupees, or 38 times its 2026 earnings per share, has drawn bids for around 212 million shares against 124.56 million on offer, as of 1:33 p.m. IST, exchange data showed.

Retail investors bid for 68 million shares, 1.26 times the shares set aside for them.

Before the IPO's public launch, the company secured $278.5 million from institutional investors , including BlackRock and sovereign wealth funds from Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Norway.

The IPO will close for subscription on Thursday, and the shares are expected to begin trading on July 21.

Analysts said the company's strong presence beyond major cities positions it to benefit from rising retail participation in mutual funds with 64 consecutive months of inflows through June 2026.

Smaller cities are contributing more heavily to growth in assets under management for fund managers, and that puts SBI Funds Management in a strong position, said Ambareesh Baliga, a Mumbai-based market analyst.

SBI Funds Management can also draw on the State Bank of India's wide distribution network.

The IPO, India's largest so far in 2026, follows a subdued first half for primary market fundraising as a spike in crude oil prices driven by the Iran war raised growth concerns in Asia's third-largest economy.

India is expected to see a busy pipeline of public offerings in the second half of the year, with mega listings from Reliance Jio and National Stock Exchange expected before the end of 2026.

($1 = 96.2300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Andrei Khalip)

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-- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

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Adds stake sale details and background from paragraph 2

July 9 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS will sell a 1.42% stake in asset management unit SBI Funds Management SBIA.NS to 30 investors for 16.55 billion rupees ($173.5 million) in a pre-IPO placement, the lender said on Thursday.

The stake sale at 574 rupees per share - the top end of the asset manager's IPO price band - provides an early benchmark for the unit's valuation and indicates institutional demand before the public offering.

SBI is selling 28.8 million shares of SBI Funds to investors including Tata AIG General Insurance, Go Digit General Insurance, 360 ONE funds, Bennett Coleman, and several alternative investment funds and family offices.

SBI Funds' $1.22 billion IPO is set to open for bids on July 14, with India's largest asset manager seeking a valuation of up to 1.17 trillion rupees.

The company, a joint venture between India's largest lender SBI and Europe's largest asset manager, Amundi AMUN.PA, has set a price band of 545-574 rupees per share for the three-day share sale.

The stock is expected to list on Indian stock exchanges on July 21.

SBI Funds is not selling new shares in the IPO and will not receive any proceeds. SBI is selling up to 128.3 million shares, while Amundi India Holding will divest up to 75.4 million shares, together offloading about 10% of SBI Funds Management's paid-up equity capital.

($1 = 95.3800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas and Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Maju Samuel)

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July 8 (Reuters) - India's largest asset manager, SBI Funds Management SBIA.NS, will launch its initial public offering on July 14, with the issue closing on July 16, parent State Bank of India SBI.NS said in an exchange filing on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

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By Jayshree P Upadhyay and Vivek Kumar M

MUMBAI, July 7 (Reuters) - SBI Funds Management, India's largest asset manager, will draw investments from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Singapore's GIC as part of its $1.2 billion initial public offering, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

SBI Funds Management, a joint venture between the country's largest lender State Bank of India SBI.NS and Europe's largest asset manager Amundi AMUN.PA, manages assets worth 12.5 trillion Indian rupees ($131.1 billion) as of end-March 2026.

It is expected to be valued at around $12.3 billion, the sources said, with SBI and Amundi selling a collective 10% of their shares in the joint venture, as part of the issue.

The IPO, likely to open next week, will kick off a busy pipeline of public offerings for India in the second half of the year, with Reliance Jio and National Stock Exchange mega listings expected before the end of 2026.

SBI Funds Management, GIC, Amundi and ADIA declined to comment. SBI did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

According to capital market data provider PRIME Database, 251 companies are planning to raise 4.93 trillion rupees ($51.7 billion) and waiting to come to market.

SBI Funds Management's IPO is drawing strong demand from large domestic institutional investors along with top foreign investors from Singapore and the Middle East, the sources said.

"The offering has commitments worth nearly five times of the amount reserved for institutional investors," one of the two sources said.

Despite the strong institutional demand, the fund house plans to keep 50% of the offer reserved for individual investors, the source said.

IPO PIPELINE REBUILDS

SBI Funds Management's public offer will be India's largest IPO since early 2026 after the Iran war led to a rise in oil prices, hurting investment sentiment toward the South Asian economy, heavily dependent on imported fuel.

Other IPOs lined up this month include a $1.2 billion issue from Manipal Health Enterprises and a $471 million issue from Indo-MIM, two merchant banking sources, separate from those cited earlier, said.

IPOs of the National Stock Exchange of India(NSE) and Reliance Jio with an estimated size of $3.3 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively, are expected to open later in the year.

"While the big-name IPOs that are potentially lined up for this month have good traction, the kind of response they receive and listing will decide the fate of the other bigger issues in the pipeline," said Suraj Krishnaswamy, managing director and head of investment banking coverage at Axis Capital.

In 2025, Indian firms raised $21.8 billion from IPOs. So far in 2026, they have raised $3.8 billion.

A successful return of large IPOs will also depend on a revival of foreign investor interest in Indian equities. These investors have sold shares worth $29 billion in the secondary markets so far this year, although selling pressure has eased and investors are giving India a second look, Reuters reported last month.

"We remain optimistic about the $20 billion IPO fundraise this year despite a subdued first half. Although, a lot of heavy lifting ($8 billion to $9 billion) will be done by three to four large IPOs that are in the pipeline," said Bhavesh Shah, managing director and head of investment banking at Equirus.

($1 = 95.3300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay and Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Ira Dugal and Jacqueline Wong)

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By Nishit Navin

BENGALURU, June 30 (Reuters) - Indian fintech firm Cashfree Payments plans to deepen its cross-border business with offerings such as overseas investment and travel payments as it seeks to tap rising demand for international transactions, CEO Akash Sinha said on Monday.

Cashfree, backed by State Bank of India SBI.NS, the country's largest lender, currently facilitates cross-border e-commerce payments.

It plans to begin pilots this year for overseas investment, travel and business-to-business payment services, expanding beyond online shopping, Sinha told Reuters in an interview.

"Cross-border is an exciting space...the market is not a challenge. It's a growing market," Sinha said, attributing the opportunity to India's increasing integration with the global economy through trade agreements.

"It's more about how do we crack it. Can we build the right product? Can we make a compliant product? Those are the challenges."

Indian payment firms have stepped up their focus on cross-border services as outbound travel, overseas education, investments and global trade gather pace.

Unlike domestic payment processing, where intense competition has squeezed pricing, cross-border transactions typically offer better margins because they involve foreign exchange and additional regulatory compliance.

Sinha said Cashfree aims to build payment infrastructure that makes cross-border transactions smoother, cheaper and operationally hassle-free for consumers and businesses.

Cashfree, which has a cross-border payments aggregator licence from India's financial regulator, expects the business to contribute 25% of revenue within three to four years, up from 10% currently.

It reported revenue of nearly 10 billion rupees ($105.7 million) in financial year 2026.

The firm, founded in 2015, processes transactions worth $80 billion annually for more than 1 million businesses, according to its website.

($1 = 94.6050 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, June 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The world's top venue for trading in equity options by volume is treading carefully with its own listing plans. India's National Stock Exchange may seek a $52 billion market capitalisation in its Mumbai initial public offering. After a decade of delays to its debut, accepting a valuation discount to rival BSE BSEL.NS, formerly Bombay Stock Exchange, is a prudent hedge against regulators tightening rules to curb retail losses and their push to loosen the bourse's dominance.

Founded in 1992, NSE executes equity options contracts worth 142 trillion rupees ($1.5 trillion) in turnover annually, thanks to the rapid uptake of trading by retail investors following the Covid pandemic. NSE controls three-fourths of that lucrative trade. A listing will also yield a windfall for its long-time backers like Temasek and State Bank of India SBI.NS.

They and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, who took the role in 2022 after 10 years leading BSE, all appear determined to ensure a deal is done. Assume NSE's earnings of 103 billion rupees increase 34% for the year to the end of March - the same pace of earnings growth Visible Alpha estimates for BSE - and the $52 billion market capitalisation works out to 36 times earnings, compared to BSE's 49 times multiple.

Both exchanges are exposed to a potential plunge in trading volumes, with each generating roughly 60% of its top line from derivatives. The official crackdown, which last year temporarily banned high frequency trader Jane Street, also saw authorities increase minimum contract sizes, implement a ban on lending to high-frequency traders and impose higher taxes on derivatives transactions. If retail investors' chunky losses continue, more restrictions could follow.

NSE's sheer outsize influence is seen as a problem too. Its market share in options trading has tumbled to 75% from 97% two years ago, when the regulator began tightening control over the number and frequency of contracts the exchanges can offer. As a result, NSE's bottom line fell 16% in the most recent financial year even as BSE's grew 88%. Another reason for Chauhan to accept a discount is simply that BSE's scarcity premium will disappear. All that makes selling cheap an imperative more than an option.

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CONTEXT NEWS

India's National Stock Exchange will sell up to 149 million shares, 6% of its total outstanding, in a Mumbai initial public offering, the bourse said in a draft prospectus filed on June 17.

State Bank of India, a Morgan Stanley affiliate, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Temasek are among existing shareholders who will offer shares in the issue.

A record 20 bookrunning lead managers are advising the issue, led by Kotak Mahindra and JM Financial.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

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By Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, June 25 (Reuters) - Three Indian development finance institutions are planning to raise at least $1.5 billion through foreign-currency bank loans under the central bank's discounted overseas borrowing facility, three people familiar with the plans said.

The institutions are favouring loans over bonds because none has issued dollar debt before and the process is simpler, the sources added.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) are each seeking to raise at least $500 million through foreign-currency loans, with NaBFID the furthest along after initiating talks with lenders, an executive confirmed.

"We expect to raise up to $2 billion via ECBs in this financial year. At present, we are planning to raise $500 million through the ECB route, and we have already started our activity and are exploring in the market," NaBFID managing director Rajkiran Rai told Reuters.

"With the RBI window opening, ECBs work out much cheaper. For the loan, the landed cost could be in the range of 6.5%-7.0%, NaBFID's Rai added.

The institution had also raised $125 million via a smaller dollar loan tranche in March, the sources added.

The sources declined to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media. NABARD and SIDBI did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

NABARD and SIDBI, which have not yet tapped foreign funding, have initiated preliminary talks and could approach the market over the next 30 to 40 days, according to all the sources.

"There is a lengthy procedure involved in a debut dollar bond sale, and it is time-consuming. If an institution is not going to be a regular issuer like EXIM Bank, it makes little sense to choose bonds over loans," one of the sources said.

Based on the credit ratings, dollar loans may be just marginally expensive than bonds for now.

The Reserve Bank of India earlier this month allowed banks and state-run companies raising funds overseas to access a subsidised hedging facility, lowering the cost of managing currency risk as part of a broader effort to attract dollar inflows and support the rupee.

Since then, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, Axis Bank AXBK.NS and Power Finance Corp PWFC.NS have raised a combined $1.85 billion through dollar bonds, while Bank of Baroda BOB.NS and State Bank of India SBI.NS are preparing for similar issues.

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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