Hyderabad, May 23: The State Bank of India (SBI), on Saturday, said it has set aside Rs 20,000 crore liquidity as proposed lending to telecom companies that have recently won the bids for 3G spectrum. The public sector bank also said, its SMS Unhappy service, which is currently implemented as a pilot in Hyderabad, will be rolled across the country.
“For telecom companies that are buying 3G spectrum, may be about Rs 20,000 crore lending may come from the SBI,’’ O P Bhatt, Chairman, of the bank said.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of SBI branch inauguration at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, Bhatt said, for the year ended March, 2010, SBI had liquidity of roughly Rs 40,000 crore and assuming there’s no further outgo other than the Rs 20,000 crore earmarked for telecom operators, the bank will be left with 50 per cent of its existing liquidity. Bhatt, on Friday, mentioned that some of the telecom operators, who have bagged 3G spectrum licences, have approached SBI seeking lending. He, however, declined to mention the borrowing limits for each operator and the number of companies that are seeking capital.
He said the Bank’s credit growth, which is expected to grow by about 20 per cent the current financial year 2010-11, is likely to see more traction from the retail segment including home and auto loans.
“Besides retail, we also expect larger pick up from corporates both large and mid-tier ompanies,’’Bhatt explained.
--Agencies--
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