State Bank of India expects to firm up its new deposit investment scheme aimed at the expatriates, including the Resurgent India Bond holders, in the next two to three weeks and plans to provide an in-built mechanism to manage the exchange rate risk of this product.

"We are working out the details and expect to finalise the details in two to three weeks. The bank will also conduct roadshows in August and September to attract investors," SBI chairman A K Purwar told reporters, inaugurating the country's first overseas banking unit set up by the bank in Mumbai on Thursday.

SBI expects to retain about 30-35 per cent of the RIB redemptions totalling $5.5 billion, so the retention could be close to $2 billion, he said adding, this idea of targetting these bond holders through a new product was a "purely commercial consideration."

RIBs were issued in August 1998 by SBI with the approval of the government and RBI for a tenor of five years and the total subscription was equivalent of $4.23 billion.

Purwar said the product, which would be available in both rupee and dollar denominations, would also have an in-built mechanism to manage the exchange risk. In the case of RIBs, this risk was borne by the government, he added.

Ruling out any adverse impact on SBI, he said the bank was strong enough and well prepared to make redemptions of RIBs.

He said out of the total deposits in the bank, 15-17 per cent were NRI deposits.