State Bank of India has an exposure of around Rs 27,000 crore to the Adani Group, there are no concerns so far on this loan book and any further lending to the conglomerate’s projects would be evaluated on its own merit, said the state-run lender’s chairman Dinesh Khara.

The boss of the country’s largest bank does not envisage the embattled group facing any challenge to service its debt obligations to the bank. 

“We have lent towards projects having tangible assets and adequate cash flows. All the group companies are in a position to meet their repayment obligations without any delays,” said Khara. 

The exposure to the conglomerate is 0.88% of SBI’s loan book. This includes both fund and non-fund based exposures and also a small portion of lending from the bank’s overseas book. SBI has also invested Rs 285 crore in the bonds of the group.

The non-fund exposure is limited to letters of credit and performance bank guarantees and is not related to any equity raising or acquisition activities of the Gautam Adani-led group, Khara told reporters on a post-earnings call.

The chairman clarified that the bank has not extended any loan to the group against shares as collateral. 

For further lending to the group, Khara said it is a discussion which is vested with the credit committees and also the sanctioning authority. “So, everybody will be very mindful about what the situations are,” he said.

There has not been any request from the Adani group to refinance their debt obligations, Khara added.

When asked if the bank will follow tighter credit rules against the group on the aftermath of the Hindenburg Research report and the battering of the share prices, Khara said the lender always insists on adequate equity to be brought in before releasing any amount. "Unless the equity is seen, the amount is not released…It is not so that we are waiting for any equity. Going forward as well, each of such proposals will be evaluated on its own merit.”

Adani firms have lost more than $100 billion in stock values since US short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report last week alleging that the ports-to-energy-to-cement conglomerate had engaged in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud”. The report raised concerns about Adani Group’s high debt levels and the alleged use of offshore entities in tax havens.