The government on Saturday said it will review policies to facilitate the State Bank of India get new capital for growing business and international presence.
Besides growing in India, SBI has to grow internationally and "I want to see the SBI logo in every capital of the world, for which it would require new capital (funds)," Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said addressing a function to flag-off bicentennial celeberations of SBI in Mumbai.
It's two centuries of business for SBI
"It (acquiring new capital) can only happen if we examine the current policies and restrictions and I hope we are able to do so in next few months," the finance minister said.
He said banks must expand credit substantially to fuel economic growth targetted to grow at eight per cent. They must find new capital to meet international norms and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
The banks need to finance our (India's) international trade, which is expected to touch $200 billion mark. They would need size and presence to support growing volumes, he said.
On the performance and strength of banks, he said they have become strong and have to become multi-product financial centres to sell a range of products like insurance and pension schemes.
He said SBI as a leader has responsibilities and set high standards and asked banks to adopt best practices and good governance norms to achieve them.
Earlier, he had a meeting with industrialists, including Rahul Bajaj, Mukesh Ambani, Adi Godrej and Shashi Ruia, which was described as a "routine interaction".
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