SBI Under Pressure Over Loan To Controversial Adani Mine

Two senior executives, who asked not to be identified, said the bank was dragging its feet on extending part of a funding line of as much as $1 billion to Adani Enterprises.

India's largest bank hasn't decided whether to help finance an Australian coal mine following mounting pressure from climate activists and investors, including BlackRock Inc. Two senior State Bank of India executives, who asked not to be identified, said the bank was dragging its feet on extending part of a funding line of as much as $1 billion to Adani Enterprises Ltd., which plans to use the money for the controversial Carmichael mine. The bank's executive committee, which will make the final decision, hasn't had discussions about the loan this year, the officials said. The Carmichael mine has been the focus of environmental protests since it was proposed in 2010. SBI shareholders have joined the opposition. BlackRock and Norway's Storebrand ASA raised their objections over the past year, and Amundi SA divested its holdings of SBI's green bonds because of the bank's ties to the Carmichael mine. SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, who took charge in October, is reticent to disburse the funds to Adani given the opposition to the Australian project, bank officials said. Still, no decision has yet been made about the loan, they said.