SBI reports a record $1b quarterly profit

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, reported a record quarterly profit yesterday as provisions for bad loans more than halved.

Most large Indian banks have reported higher profits for the September quarter, buoyed by a rebound in credit demand as the economy reopened fully and low interest rates boosted spending on automobiles and homes.

SBI’s net profit rose 66.7 per cent to Rs76.27 billion for the three months ended September 30, from Rs45.74 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations for a profit of Rs71.82 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Bad loans

Provisions for bad loans slid 52 per cent to Rs26.99 billion, while the bank’s gross bad loan ratio, a measure of asset quality, slipped to 4.90 per cent from 5.32 per cent a quarter earlier.

SBI shares, which have outperformed the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index so far this year with a near 90 per cent jump, were up 1 per cent after the results.