SBI to divest stake in credit card business

The Executive Committee of Central Board of the State Bank of India has decided to explore the possibility of diluting the bank’s stake in SBI Cards & Payment Services Private Limited through the IPO route.

SBI Cards & Payment Services Private Limited is State Bank of India’s subsidiary company. The divestment via IPO route will be initiated only after approval from the RBI and other necessary regulatory authorities. In the press release, it further said that specific disclosures on offer for sale (OFS) by promoters will be given when it gets finalised by the bank. Previously, in December 2017, SBI and the Carlyle Group had acquired GE Capital's stake in this joint venture. So, currently, SBI holds 74 per cent stake and Carlyle holds 26 per cent in the cards and payments unit. SBI has a huge consumer base of approximately 6 million consumers using SBI card services for payment of products and services.

SBI is one of the largest public sector banks in India. For the quarter ended June 2019, SBI reported a healthy net profit of Rs. 2,312 crore as compared to the reported net loss in the previous quarters. 

On Wednesday, the stock of the company closed at Rs. 289.85, up by 2.28 per cent. The stock hit 52-week high of Rs. 373.7 and 52-week low of Rs. 247.65.