SBI to raise up to $1.5 billion via share sale

Plans to raise Rs 2,000 cr through sale of shares to govt on preferential basis

State Bank of India , the country's largest lender, will raise up to Rs 9,576 crore through a share sale to institutional investors or a follow-on public offer, it said in a statement late on Friday.

It plans to raise another Rs 2,000 crore through sale of shares to the government on a preferential basis.

SBI posted its steepest quarterly profit fall in more than two years in the three months to September as non-performing loans increased, putting pressure on the lender to raise funds quickly.

Chairwoman Arundhati Bhattacharya said earlier that the bank plans to raise the funds, including Rs 5000 crore through bonds, before March 31.