Chairman of India’s largest lender says Bank will raise up to Rs20,000 crore in the next fiscal, through a rights issue

India's premier bank, State Bank of India (SBI), needs to raise around Rs40,000 crore of capital over the next five-years and this would be done through a rights issue, a top bank official told reporters.

"In the next five-years, we need to raise somewhere around Rs 40,000-crore. This is in addition to Tier II capital and in addition to retail earnings which account for Tier I capital," SBI chairman OP Bhatt told reporters here.

This number would, however, keep changing depending upon requirements, especially of the bank's subsidiaries, Mr Bhatt said.

Of the Rs 40,000-crore, the public sector lender is looking at raising up to Rs20,000-crore in the next fiscal.

"In the next financial year, we are looking at a ceiling of around Rs 20,000-crore—it could be anywhere between Rs 10,000-20,000-crore," he said.

Though the bank is fairly well-capitalised at 14% plus, "we always look at a slightly longer-term horizon of five years," Mr Bhatt said.

The bank will keep updating its capital requirement for the next five years, after every quarter or six-month period, he said.

The bank would raise funds at an opportune time depending upon market conditions and requirements of its subsidiaries, especially its insurance arm which is unlisted, he said.