The Hindu Business Line : <I>Rates more or less peaked; no real scope for weakening: Chairman </I>

State Bank of India is of the view that interest rates have more or less peaked but there is no real scope for weakening of rates in the next six months or so.

The bank, which feels that rates have almost stabilised for the time being, will assess how recent rate hikes have influenced the quality of its assets. It, however, feels that the impact will be markedly less than in the case of some of the others.

SBI, said Mr O.P. Bhatt, Chairman, has seen a stabilisation of its market share in recent months, both in terms of deposits and advances. In both cases, the bank has actually seen a turnaround of sorts. The turnaround, in fact, has been particularly evident from September last year.

"We have set a target of scaling up advances and deposits by one per cent every year for the next few years," he told newspersons on Saturday. Deposits and advances have grown 14.6 per cent and 27.9 per cent, respectively in 2006-07.

The bank's assets, it is pointed out, are quite diversified at this juncture - spread over a very wide range of sectors. Its exposure to mid-corporates, which has recorded a decent growth last year, will remain among its focus areas.

SBI aims to issue 10 million `SBI Tiny' cards by March 2009. The bank intends to roll out new business processes in order to increase efficiency and manage costs. This will be possible with the use of superior technology.

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