State Bank of India found itself the subject of speculation again as rumours that RBI would be amending its FII ceiling came to the fore once again.

The scrip of India's largest commercial bank, as a result, proved the biggest gainer in the 30-share Sensex, up 2.58% to Rs 302, by 10:55 IST. Substantial volumes of over 1.44 million SBI shares were registered on BSE by that time.

Though the rumours seem very much like old hat, they never fail in generating interest on the SBI counter. Last week, too, the scrip had risen on these rumours. The finance ministry, subsequently, denied any government intention to raise the investment limit for FIIs in SBI.

Though talk that the government will increase the investment limit for FIIs has been going on in the market for a long time now, this time round, players feel a conviction that the government will raise the FII investment limit. This has set off huge buying interest on the counter.

As per market talk, CL Securities is buying briskly on the SBI counter. It is supposed to have acquired over 15 lakh SBI shares in the derivatives market on behalf of an FII.

Currently, there is a cap of 20% for FIIs in SBI. The GDR holding also comes under the overall ceiling of 20% . At present, the FII limit stands exhausted as they hold a 19.63% stake in SBI (as per the shareholding pattern of the bank on 31 December 2002). The holding of FIIs includes the 7.88% holding of GDR holders in the bank.

For Q3 ended 31 December 2002, SBI recorded a 28% growth in net profit to Rs 787.05 crore (Rs 7.87 billion). Net revenues jumped by 18% to Rs 3,756.93 crore (Rs 37.56 billion). For the nine months ended 31 December 2002, net interest income recorded a 7% rise to Rs 7,210.20 crore (Rs 72.1 billion), mainly due to an increase in interest income by 4% to Rs 23,066.35 crore (Rs 230.66 billion). Net profit stood at Rs 2367.45 crore (Rs 23.67 billion), up 30%.

BSE Code: 500112