KOLKATA: State Bank of India on Saturday said it was reaching out to customers having an impaired cash-flow so that they could be helped. A senior bank official said it would be very difficult to assess medium or long-term impact on the banking sector at the moment.

The bank was looking at the short term now - the next two or three quarters, the senior SBI official said on condition of anonymity. The impact of the lockdown over the next one to two years will be difficult to assess at the moment, he pointed out. “SBI is sure of a turnaround as India is a young country and a growing economy,” the senior official said.

According to an analysis, the aviation, hospitality, travel and tourism sectors were the most affected in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, he said, adding power and steel were also adversely impacted as demand falls. The sectors that could benefit from the pandemic are pharma and medical equipment manufacturing, the official said.