State Bank of India is witnessing a clear revival in corporate credit demand, driven by improving economic activity, and expects the segment to record double-digit growth over the remaining two quarters of the current financial year, Chairman CS Setty said.

He noted that the bank has a strong credit pipeline, with loan sanctions totalling about Rs 7 trillion, comprising unutilised working capital limits and term loans currently under disbursement. In addition, several project loans are under active discussion. After a prolonged period of sluggishness, corporate lending registered a growth of 7.1 per cent in Q2, marking a significant turnaround. “Our guidance for corporate credit is lower double-digit growth in the next two quarters, supported by the available pipeline,” Setty said.

Rising economic momentum is also lifting working capital utilisation, with steady improvement each quarter. For term loans, he said, projects that have already been approved and are under disbursement are progressing, while those still under evaluation will contribute to a replenished pipeline.

Setty added that SBI is unlikely to require additional equity capital to sustain credit expansion while maintaining a capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent over the next five to six years.

On profitability, he reaffirmed confidence in achieving the bank’s net interest margin target of 3 per cent. This, he said, would remain achievable even if the Reserve Bank of India were to cut the repo rate by 0.25 per cent in the upcoming monetary policy decision. The outcome is expected to be a “close call”, though SBI’s internal assessment suggests a shallow 0.25 per cent reduction.