“The deal will be finalised any day now,” said Jayanta K Sinha, chief general manager of the Bengal circle of SBI. While he refused to comment on the bank being the sole lender for the car, another official said this might not just be the case.

According to sources, the deal is in its initial stage and discussions are on whether to make the bank the sole lender. The bank will start bookings at 100 branches across India.

The SBI, meanwhile, has reduced interest rates on car loan by 50 basis points. “We will give 0.25 per cent below the card rate for all Tata Motors car buyers,” Sinha said. The bank has also decided to halve the processing fee for Tata Motors.

Addressing mediapersons on the bank’s new initiatives, Sinha said the car loan market in Bengal has grown from 100 a month last year to 440 cars now. “We have announced 0.50 per cent concession in interest rates and 50 bps cut on the processing fees for government employees,” he said.