SBI to unlock value from associates' IPOs

The State Bank of India (SBI) will be able to unlock huge value once
its seven associate banks entered the capital market with public issue offers, A K Purwar, chairman of SBI, said today.

"We expect to get good money from the public issue offers of the associate banks," Purwar said.

This is evident from the fact that the combined business volume of the seven associates was next only to SBI. "This makes the associates together the second largest banking entity in the country after SBI," Purwar said.

Once the SBI Banking Subsidiary Act is passed by the Parliament, the associates would start entering the capital market within 2 to 3 months, After the Act is passed, SBI would bring down its holding in the banks to 51%, Purwar said.

SBI holds 100% shareholding in three associates, while in four others it varies from 75% to 98%.