State Bank of India FY13 loan growth at 21 percent - chairman

MUMBAI (Reuters) - State Bank of India saw a loan growth of 21 percent in the financial year ended March 31, its chairman said on Tuesday, ahead of the annual earnings announcement from India's largest lender.

A surge in corporate loan demand in February and March helped drive the growth, up from a rise of 16.5 percent during the previous year, Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters.

At 25 percent, auto loan growth showed a dip in demand but was still "robust", Chaudhuri added.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)