India’s largest domestic lender, State Bank of India has approved its long-term fundraising plans of up to $2 billion. The funds will be raised via the issuance of long-term bonds during the period of FY26-27.
The fund raising would be carried in one or multiple tranches through fixed or floating rate bonds, which will be issued via public offer or private placement in US Dollars or any other major currencies.
The development comes at a crucial time when India’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen by $7.79 billion to $690.90 for the week ended May 1, 2026, according to the data released by RBI. These reserves provide import cover for around 10 months.
The sharp decline in forex reserves has largely been attributed to the falling currency value and high fuel prices over the prolonged West Asia conflict, which has stretched by more than 10 weeks now.
What does bond raising mean?
Bonds are financial instruments issued by the government or a company to raise money from investors. These are usually issued for a long period of time. In simple terms, it is like a loan that a company takes from people and repays them with interest called a coupon.
The repayment of the principal amount is done after a certain number of years, which is called its maturity period.
SBI’s latest development marks fund raising via the issuance of bonds in foreign currencies.
SBI: Q4 Financial Performance
The lender posted a 5.6% rise in its standalone net profit for the March quarter at Rs 19,684 crore. The country’s biggest lender had earned a profit of Rs 18,643 crore in the January-March period of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The banks’ operating profit declined by 11.4% on year to Rs 27,704 crore in Jan-Mar, and its Net Interest Income (NII) for FY26 increased by 4.08% YoY. The bank’s NII grew to Rs 44,380 crore in Q4 FY26, from Rs 42,618 crore.
SBI: Share Price
The bank’s share price ended Tuesday’s trade flat at Rs 976.10. Over the past one month its stock has declined by more than 8%, while over the past six months it has delivered a return of nearly 2%.
So far this year the stock has fallen by 1%.