SBI extends time for e-auction of its 300 properties by 1 hour on heavy demand

State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, which on Saturday began an e-auction of a large chunk of its distressed assets, has extended the bidding time by an hour due to higher demand.

In a first-of-its-kind move, SBI has put up for e-auction around 300 properties worth Rs 1,200 crore, which include offices, shops, factory buildings and residential apartments. The bank had put out a public notice in this regard on Thursday.

"Due to heavy traffic, the site has become slow and we don't want anyone to miss the chance. Earlier, the bidding time was till 5 PM and we are now going to extend it by an hour," PK Malhotra, SBI deputy managing director - stressed assets group, told PTI.

The sale of the state-run lender's distressed properties is being conducted by e-procurement solutions providers C1 India and Auction Tiger through the realty portal Magicbricks.com.

Out of the 300 assets being sold, 100 are the residential properties, Malhotra said.

SBI has put on sale distressed properties from 25 cities, including four major metros to service its bad debts.

The bank currently has Rs 60,000 crore ($10 billion) worth of bad debts, which figure is growing.