Adani’s US Legal Troubles Push Indian Banks to Assess Their Exposure

Adani stocks: While foreign scrutiny continues to haunt the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate, things might get a bit tricky on the domestic front as well. SBI (State Bank of India) alongside many other banks are reportedly reviewing their exposure to the Adani group.

As per sources cited in a report by Reuters, these lending institutions are also considering stricter due diligence for new loans, following US bribery allegations against Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani.

Even those banks with limited exposure to the group, like Canara Bank, IDBI Bank and Bank of India, are also conducting similar assessments. Union Bank and RBL Bank are also on this list. However, this review may not lead to any immediate changes in the lenders' credit policies toward the group.

Sources cited in the report also pointed out that, from a banking system standpoint, there is no cause for concern as no lender is currently overly exposed to the group.

According to IIFL Securities, State Bank of India (SBI) has the highest exposure to the Adani Group among Indian banks. The value of sanctioned loans stands around 338 billion rupees or $4 billion.

Adani Shares Decline

Adani Group's flagship company, Adani Enterprises, has seen its shares decline by over 13 percent on the National Stock Exchange since bribery allegations were made against the group chairman.

On Thursday, the shares of the company concluded the trading session at Rs 2,437 price level, up by 1.63 per cent on NSE.

Its renewable arm, Adani Green Energy, which was the hardest hit by the allegations, also hit the 10 percent upper circuit limit on Thursday. However, the stock has remained highly volatile and has struggled to stay in the green territory since the start of this week.

On year-to-date basis, the shares of the company have declined by more than 30 per cent on the bourses.