SBI to ramp up small business lending as private banks, NBFCs grow cautious

Chairman Rajnish Kumar calls for government help for weak shadow banks

India’s largest lender is hoping to capitalise on the country’s shadow banking crisis by building its mortgage and small business loan book as the non-banks are forced to pull back.

State Bank of India, which is slowly emerging from a period of massive provisioning on loans to large corporates like Essar Steel India Ltd., sees opportunities in taking business from the shadow banks without creating new asset quality problems, according to Chairman Rajnish Kumar.

“We are not shying away from any business but that does not in any manner mean that we are going to dilute our underwriting standard,” Kumar