Adani mess: SBI chairman allays fears, says exposure 0.9% of overall loan book

State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Friday said the public sector bank does not envisage any challenge due to the turmoil Adani Group stocks. The SBI chairman said the bank's overall exposure is 0.9% of overall loan book.   

The SBI chairman said the bank does not envisage the embattled ports-to-mining group to face any challenge to service its debt obligations. He further said that SBI has not given any loans against shares to the group.

#BREAKING | First #SBI statement on #AdaniMess, chairman says 'Exposure is 0.9 per cent of overall loan book'.

Tune in to watch here #LIVE:- https://t.co/Iuj0zHer9u pic.twitter.com/e0bxxUK9zg

— Republic (@republic)

The SBI chairman’s statement came after the Finance Secretary TV Somanathan called the market turmoil a storm in a teacup. The finance secretary said movements in the stock market is not the government's concern and there are independent regulators to take necessary action. 

"There is absolutely no concern from the point of view of financial stability, either for depositors, or for policyholders, or for anyone holding shares in these institutions. The share of any one company is not such as to create any impact at the macro level and so there is absolutely no concern from that point of view," he told PTI in a post-budget interview.

Somanathan added the movements in the stock market is not the government's concern and there are independent regulators to take necessary action.

The shares of Adani Group firms continued to weaken on Friday and touched a one-year low on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The shares of the enterprise tumbled 20 percent to Rs 1,173.55. 

According to news agency PTI, the shares of Adani Ports, Adani Transmission and Adani Green Energy tanked 10% individually on Friday. Apart from this, the shares belonging to Adani Power and Adani Total Gas fell by 5%. Meanwhile, the stocks of Adani Wilmar, NDTV, ACC and Ambuja Cements fell by 4.99%, 4.98%, 4.24% and 3% respectively. 

RBI asks Indian banks for details of exposure to Adani Group 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday, February 3, asked Indian banks for details about their exposure to the Adani Group’s companies, sources revealed. This came after the shares of the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate tumbled following the withdrawal of the firm’s fully-subscribed FPO. However, no official statement has been released by the RBI in the matter. 

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Wednesday, February 1, decided to call off the firm’s FPO in view of the “unprecedented situation” and “moral responsibility”.

Opposition demands investigation

Meanwhile, the Opposition parties united against the government over the Adani Group crisis and demanded an investigation into the matter stating that the plunging of the Adani Group’s fall will risk the Indian investors. Their demand in view of the fraud claims made by the US short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani Enterprise stocks. 

Turning the Adani mess into a political issue, opposition parties also caused a ruckus in Parliament and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored Committee investigation into it.