SBI to hire merchant banker for sale of non-core assets

The State Bank of India (SBI) has started the process for selling some of its investments which are not critical to its core business in an attempt to shore up its capital base. SBI has stakes in stock exchanges, depositories, clearing and warehousing corporations, and credit rating agencies. In the past, SBI executives have said that monetizing non-core assets was one possible way of raising capital. This is in line with the government’s thinking that banks should sell non-core investments to improve capital adequacy ratio. SBI is divesting 8% in joint venture SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd’s initial public offering (IPO), which opened for subscription on Wednesday.