On Oct. 28, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its counterparty credit ratings on the State Bank of India (SBI; foreign currency BB/Positive/B, local currency BB+/Stable/B). The affirmation of the ratings on SBI takes into consideration the continued improvement in the bank's financial profile, in particular its loan quality, satisfactory profitability, and capitalization. The bank is the largest bank in India in terms of assets, loans, and deposits. SBI continues to have a close link with the sovereign, given that its banking operations are predominantly domiciled in India, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI; the country's central bank) owns a 59.8% stake in SBI. In addition, a fairly sizable 40% of its balance sheet is invested in government
