SBI gets shareholders nod to raise Rs 15,000 crore

Country's largest lender SBI today said its has got shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore by public issue or overseas issuance of shares.
The bank had convened a general meeting today to obtain shareholders' approval to raise the said amount.
Earlier in January, SBI had informed about its plans to raise this sum of Rs 15,000 crore by March 2017.
"The General Meeting was convened to obtain the shareholders' approval, to create, offer, issue and allot such number of equity shares of Re 1 each, not exceeding Rs 15,000 crore or such amount as may be approved by the Government and the RBI", it said in a BSE filing.

State Bank Of India said the issue will be subject to the condition that the Government shareholding in the bank's equity share capital does not fall below 52 per cent at any point of time.
The money can be raised by either of the ways including public issue, rights issue or private placement, such as qualified institutional placement (QIP) or Global Depository Receipt or American Depository Receipt or any another mode or a combination, as may be decided by the Board, it said.

The fund to be raised will help the bank to meet global risk norms under Basel III, which the banks needs to be fully compliant with by March 2019.

(Reopens DCM 45)
SBI Deputy Managing Director (Associates and Subsidiaries) Neeraj Vyas said: "There were three valid grievances each for SBT, SBBJ and SBM, which were taken by the expert committee. The committee found the swap ratios to be correct and so rejected all the grievances.
"The boards of these three listed banks at a meeting held today viewed the expert committee recommendations and reconfirmed the swap ratio."
In the filing, SBBJ, SBT and SBM said: "The boards have considered the report of the expert committee set up to consider the written objections from shareholders in terms of the grievance redressal mechanism set up as part of the merger scheme which was approved by the boards on August 18, and have approved the scheme without any modifications thereto."

On August 18, the SBI board had announced the share swap ratio for three of the listed associate banks and Bhartiya Mahila Bank.
As per the merger proposal, SBBJ shareholders will get 28 shares of SBI (Rs 1 each) for every 10 shares (Rs 10 each).
Similarly, SBM and SBT shareholders will get 22 shares of SBI for every 10 shares.
In case of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, 4,42,31,510 shares of SBI will be swapped for every 100 crore of Rs 10 each.
SBI appointed an expert committee for grievance redressals of minority shareholders with regard to the share swap ratios. The panel was given 21 days to register their complaints. The grievance redressals committee was headed by a High Court judge and two chartered accountants.

The proposal will now be sent to the SBI board in 2-3 days which will take the final view, Vyas said. Once the board takes a view, the bank will have to send the proposal to the Reserve Bank and then to the government for final approval.
In an interview earlier this month, chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya had told