State Bank of India (SBI), has decided to wait till the July 25 review of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a revision in its lending rates.SBI and all the other government-owned banks had raised its prime lending rates with effect from May 1, 2006 by an identical 25 basis points.SBI, which accounts for about 20% of the credit disbursed by the banking sector, witnessed a flat growth in advances during April-May 2006. "This is a normal phenomena in the early part of a financial year. We have seen a pick up in credit in June and the momentum is likely to continue for the rest of the year," T S Bhattacharya, acting chairman of SBI, said on the sidelines of the bank's AGM.SBI expects credit growth in FY07 to be around 25%, which is above RBI's forecast of 20%. SBI has seen a growth in retail deposits during April-May 2006.Bhattacharya said the bank has approached the government seeking permission to go ahead with a share split. On the issue of raising capital through issue of fresh equity, he said a decision on this will depend on what the government has to say.
