"We are seriously looking into the business of bank recast. We have the expertise. For a weak bank, we can look for a strategic partner or identify business units that should be hived off while for a strong one, we can advise on mergers and acquisitions," SBI Caps managing director and CEO Birendra Kumar told The Financial Express.

The investment banking arm of the bank is also planning to advise State Bank's corporate clients on recast of their business activities. "The object is two-fold: Helping corporates to turnaround and improving the asset quality of the bank as with the turnaround, the sticky loans will become standard assets as the corporates will start repaying the bank dues," Kumar pointed out.

It has stepped up its strategicadvisory role by focussing on mergers and acquisitions deals.

It has already bagged the mandate to identify buyers for the power plant of Rasthriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and three power plants of the Steel Authority of India Ltd. "We are at the moment dealing with at least 36 M&A cases," Kumar said.

Most of the M&A cases belong to the cement, pharmaceuticals, software, paper and textile sectors. "We have taken an extremely proactive role. The plan is to advise the clients of the bank as well," the SBI Caps chief said.

The objective of the SBI Cap's millennium business plan is to exploit the group synergy to the hilt and turn the bank into a financial superstore.

While the parent bank and its associates will take care of commercial banking, SBI Caps, SBI Securities (the broking arm) and SBI Gilts (primary dealer) will offer the entire range of investment banking business.SBI Caps has recently recast its organisational structure incorporating a new entity called relationship manager (RM) taking up apivotal role. The Mumbai corporate head office has been split into a regional office and the corporate office. The restructuring has been implemented following the recommendations made by Arthur Anderson.

The seven regional offices of SBI Caps, including the newly created Mumbai regional office, handle standard investment banking products such as issue management, private placement of debt and project appraisal.

Non-standard products like mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, privatisation, syndication of rupee and foreign exchange loans, research, infrastructure financing etc. are handled by the corporate office.

The most important new ingredient in the new structure is the relationship manager (RM). Operating from the regional offices, each relationship manager is assigned specific industrial groups. The RM is the interface between the group and SBI Caps. He will be in constant touch with the corporate and will provide solutions for all their investment banking needs. The new organisationalstructure has four products groups, two administrative groups and two functional groups. The four product groups are capital markets group, project advisory and structured finance group, corporate advisory services group and treasury and investments group. The two non-products group are corporate services group which will handle, personnel, administration and information technology and the audit and accounts group.

The two functional groups are strategic planning group which will develop new products and enhance the existing ones and HRD.