Telecom sector facing pressure: Arundhati Bhattacharya

State Bank of India in a recent report has commented that the telecom sector has been staggering under huge stress and the bank was doing extra provisioning for this.

According to a published report on a news portal, when asked about whether TRAI's decision to reduce the IUC charges would affect present operators like Vodafone, Airtel and Idea which were already feeling the heat of Reliance Jio's disruptive move. SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said, "The telecom sector is undergoing a lot of stress and the bank is extra provisioning due to this."

Further commenting on the matter, Bhattacharya said, "We have probably reached the bottom. Slippages are under control although new sectors like telecom were showing stress."

Bhattacharya, who inaugurated the State Bank Institute of Management at New Town area said, “The merger of the associate banks with itself was a deep structural reform.

On the institute, she said, “It would impart training in banking and finance of highest standards.” She added, “This initiative would help the bank in retaining leadership position in the banking industry.”