RBI retains ‘too big to fail’ status for SBI, ICICI Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday retained State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, the nation’s top two lenders by assets, as ‘domestic systemically important banks’, or the equivalent as ‘too big to fail’ for a second consecutive year.

The two banks had been assigned the status last year, the first time the central bank moved to such a classification.

Being named as systemically important imposes additional capital requirements for the two lenders. In compiling the list, the RBI considers factors including size, complexity, interconnectedness, international links among others.