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By Crystal Tse and Anto AntonyState Bank of India, country’s largest lender, has selected underwriters for an institutional share sale that could raise at least 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion), people with knowledge of matter said.
The government-run lender picked Bank of America Corp., CLSA Ltd.
and HSBC Holdings Plc to arrange offering, according to people, who asked not to be identified because information is private.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
were also chosen to work on deal, people said.
SBI’s sale will help bolster its capital buffers as it attempts to grow loans at a faster pace.
Credit growth in India’s banking system is rising at fastest pace in five years after a cash crunch in 2018 curtailed new loans from shadow financiers.
The deal will add to $11.8 billion raised through equity offerings in India over past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Terms of offering haven’t been finalized, and details such as fundraising target could change, people said.
SBI’s board granted approval in October for an equity offering of as much as 200 billion rupees.
A representative for SBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
