The negative outlook reflects the outlook on the long-term sovereign rating on India. The ratings and outlook on SBI will move in tandem with the sovereign rating. Standard&Poor's does not rate Indian banks above the sovereign rating because of the direct and indirect influence the sovereign in distress would have on a bank's operations, including its ability to service foreign currency obligations. Accordingly, we would lower the ratings on SBI if we downgrade the sovereign. We may also lower the rating if the bank's SACP deteriorates substantially to 'bb'. SBI's SACP already reflects our expectation that the bank's performance will remain under pressure. Therefore, the possibility of a downgrade because of a weakening of the SACP is remote
