Market analysts point out that UTI will be the major gainer as and when the market sentiment picks up because the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) will definitely pick up SBI when they come shopping for value in a big way.

On the flip side, FII holdings in the bank have dropped from 18.29 per cent to 14.73 per cent from March 31, 1998 to book closure in August, 1998.Similarly, mutual funds' stake in the bank have dropped to 2.8 per cent from 3.8 per cent during the same period. However, domestic companies now own 2.2 per cent in SBI against 0.9 per cent on March 31, 1998.

Interestingly, the SBI scrip has taken a plunge post-budget in June this year. The steepest fall, analysts recount, was in theweek ended June 5 (immediately following the budget), when the SBI scrip fell from Rs 246 to Rs 198 in five trading sessions. Earlier, it had peaked in the week ended on April 10, 1998 at Rs 307.75 and closed at Rs 301. This was incidentally the level prevailing in July last year before the scrip started moving downwards on selling pressure from FIIs and market savvy operators.

In the downward movement since April 1998, the scrip touched its nadir in the first week of the current month when it dropped to Rs 177 on September 2, 1998. The slide now appears to have been arrested with its price settling around Rs 205 level.