Fitch ups State Bank of India, Exim Bank of India

Fitch Ratings said it upgraded the support ratings of State Bank of India and Export Import Bank of India ("Exim") to 2 from 3 and removed them from rating watch positive. The outlook is stable.

Fitch said the upgrades reflect the Indian government's continued high propensity to support both banks combined with its improved ability to provide support to State Bank and Exim if necessary, as reflected by the recent upgrade of the sovereign's long-term issuer default rating to BBB- with a stable outlook.

The support rating of 2 is the highest that the agency has assigned to any Indian bank or financial institution.

Fitch said State Bank's support rating reflects its huge systemic importance and its position as India's largest bank with a market share of about 20% of banking assets. The agency said Exim plays a policy role of financing India's foreign trade and often operates as an executive arm of the government, e.g. by routing lines of credit to various countries on behalf of the state.

State Bank's other ratings are long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of BBB-, short-term foreign-currency rating of F3, €100 million bonds rated BBB-, national long-term rating of AAA(ind), national subordinated debt rating of AAA(ind) and individual rating of C. Exim's other ratings are long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of BBB-, short-term foreign-currency rating of F3, $250 million bonds rated BBB- and national long-term rating of AAA(ind).

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