SBI may extend deadline for RIB

MUMBAI, Aug 6: State Bank of India is likely to extend the deadline for closure of its ongoing Resurgent India Bonds (RIBs) beyond the Au...

MUMBAI, Aug 6: State Bank of India is likely to extend the deadline for closure of its ongoing Resurgent India Bonds (RIBs) beyond the August 17th deadline, the Chairman of SBI, M S Verma said today. "The decision to close early would not be easy, if a large number of people were still to subscribe to RIBs," he said.

The issue, a five-year NRI deposit scheme available in three currencies to the non-resident Indians and overseas corporate bodies, opened on August 5 for a period of 30 days. The earliest closing date is August 17. "It is very difficult to say with certainty that the earliest closing date will be extended. However, we will have to look at it closely as we do not want to deprive the retail investors," the SBI chairman said while addressing the newspersons.

While denying that the minimum period announced earlier was a marketing ploy, Verma advised non resident Indians (NRIs) not to wait for the last day to subscribe to the bond issue. "The India Development Bond in 1991 attracted 85,000depositors. The Resurgent Bond will certainly surpass that record and a large section of the investment in RIBs will be high-value participation," Verma said.

SBI Chairman said waiving of penalty on premature withdrawal of FCNR (B) deposits is not on the cards as the intention of RIBs is to attract fresh deposits. He said SBI cannot wait for long to close the issue as foreign offering needs to be deployed in time. Asked how could SBI deploy RIB proceeds retained abroad when the cost would be nine per cent, he said lending rate in the personal segment at present is not less than 300 basis points over Libor.