SBI to set up trustee company to manage corporate debt market development fund

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

State Bank of India (SBI) will set up a trustee company, which will be its wholly-owned subsidiary, for managing the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF). SBI Funds Management Ltd has been identified as the investment manager cum sponsor of the fund.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, SBI said it has approved setting up the trustee company as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank for managing the fund. The proposal is also subject to regulatory approvals, the filing said.

SBI has a 62.53 per cent stake in SBI Funds Management Ltd. The setting up of the CDMDF was announced by markets regulator Sebi earlier this year.

The fund will act as a backstop facility for purchase of investment grade corporate debt securities to instil confidence amongst the participants in the corporate bond market during times of stress. It will also help enhance secondary market liquidity by creating a permanent institutional framework for activation in times of market stress.

In times of market disruptions, there could be redemption pressure on open ended debt schemes of mutual funds, especially the schemes that hold relatively lower rated papers, and lack of adequate liquidity in the corporate debt market. During such scenarios, the fund would be helpful in ensuring stability in the market.