Mumbai/IBNS, Feb. 21 -- State Bank of India (SBI) is in talks with Japanese lenders for collaboration in merger and acquisition (M&A) financing, the country's largest lender said on Saturday, media reports said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), SBI Chairman CS Shetty said the bank has a lending ceiling of Rs 94,000 crore under the new regulatory framework.

On February 13, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its final guidelines, allowed banks to fund up to 75 percent of M&A transactions, raising the ceiling from 70 percent proposed in the draft norms.

The revised guidelines also permit funding for both listed and unlisted companies, marking a departure from the earlier draf...