SBI exposure to Adani Group around 0.9%, says chairman

State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara

Plummeting prices of Adani stocks will not affect the State Bank of India’s loans, chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said on February 3, as concerns mount over banks’ exposure to the conglomerate.

“We have not extended loans against shares. The stock price will not impact our loans,” Khara said, adding that SBI lent to those Adani projects that have tangible assets and adequate cash collections.

“They are able to meet obligations and it is only 0.8-0.9 percent of our loan book. We do not see any challenges in servicing the loans,” he said during a post-earnings call.

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The stocks of Adani group has been hammered after American investment firm Hindenburg Research in a report flagged alleged stock manipulation, use of tax havens and mounting debt.

The company has denied the charges but that not been enough to stem the slide.

“As I mentioned, it is all against assets that are cash-generating and have an excellent track record in repayments.

Non-fund-based exposures are performance-backed guarantees and not against equity. We have not issued any guarantee toward securing any acquisition for the Adani group,” the chairman of the country’s biggest bank said.

Going forward, the bank would insist on upfront equity while financing projects, he said. “As of now the projects where we have granted facilities, there is already equity. Each of the project or proposal will be evaluated on its own merit,” he said.

Also read: Adani Enterprises sees worst ever fall, erodes 76% wealth since December

On concerns over the Adani group, he said, “We have not started any special engagement with the group yet. So, for the time being, there is no concern.”

State Bank of India reported a 68 percent surge in net profit for the December quarter, beating Street expectations by a big margin. It reported a net profit of Rs 14,205 crore for the December quarter, up from Rs 8,431.9 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The net profit was boosted by a reduction in provisions and strong core income growth.

A poll of eight brokerages had estimated the net profit at Rs 13,360 crore for the quarter.