8-9 per cent contraction in second quarter- SBI Chairman

Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman of State Bank of India, predicted 8 to 9 per cent contraction for the second quarter where the calculation by RBI on economic shrink for Q2 marks at 9.5 per cent. He was attending 18th edition of Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

Banking sector regulations are becoming strict and corporate governance gathers much importance whether it is public or private ownership. "As long as corporate governance is tight, ownership structure does not matter much." He commented.

Khara recognized appreciable demand is continuing to unlock the situation. Second-quarter exhibited significant improvement which can be related to unlock measures happening across the country. If the condition persists, by end of year situation will be more stable and better, Khara noted. The rural economy is exhibiting appreciable improvement in the unorganized sector.

He also observed significant demand in the housing sector across the country and in addition, there is a lot of capacity in the real estate sector. 'Maybe in deluxe ones the demand may not be as strong, but in affordable housing, there is a lot of lot of promise going forward" He added.