SBI Mutual Fund sees no risk of mis-selling investment products and is not dependent on State Bank of India's branch network for business, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Debasish Mishra said, noting that only around Rs 2 lakh crore of the fund house's nearly Rs 13 lakh crore in assets under management comes through SBI Bank branches.
The remarks come as the government has urged public sector banks to focus on core banking activities. Mishra said the asset manager has expanded its distribution beyond its parent bank and follows a separate product approval process to guard against mis-selling.
"It's not as if SBI Mutual Fund is dependent only on SBI Bank branches. Of our nearly Rs 13 lakh crore assets under management, only around Rs 2 lakh crore worth of business comes through SBI Bank branches," Mishra told NDTV Profit.
He said the fund house reaches investors through multiple channels.
"We have five to six major distribution channels. Our distribution network includes over 1.3 lakh distributoRs We also distribute through other banks," he said.
Product Checks
Mishra dismissed concerns over mis-selling, saying the company has safeguards in place before any investment product reaches customers. "There is no risk of mis-selling," he said.
"We only sell products approved by our separate product committee," Mishra added.
IPO Context
The comments come ahead of SBI Mutual Fund's proposed initial public offering.
State Bank of India will sell a 6.3% stake through the IPO, while Amundi will offload 3.7%, Mishra said. After the listing, SBI's stake will decline to 55.46%, while Amundi's holding will reduce to 32.56%, he said.
ALSO READ: SBI Funds Management IPO Opens Tomorrow: GMP Signals 17%+ Listing Gain
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
