SBI profit in third quarter rises 62% on improved consumer demand
Economy

SBI profit in third quarter rises 62% on improved consumer demand

With a fifth of India’s loan market, SBI is a key barometer on the health of the country’s financial sector and a key player for economic revival.

   

Pedestrians walk by a State Bank of India bank branch in Mumbai, India|Photographer: Kuni Takahashi/Bloomberg

State Bank of India’s profit rose 62% in the third quarter helped by strong lending as the pandemic eased.

Net income at the state lender was 84.3 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) in the three months through December, compared with 51.96 billion rupees a year ago, it said in a statement Saturday. That beat the average estimate of 82.59 billion rupees of 14 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

With a fifth of India’s loan market, SBI is a key barometer on the health of the country’s financial sector and a key player for economic revival. The lender has been boosting its retail lending book, taking advantage of low interest rates and improved consumer demand.

The bank’s gross bad loans narrowed to 4.5% at the end of December from 4.9% three months ago, it said in the statement. It set aside 69.7 billion rupees in provisions during the third quarter, higher than 1.89 billion rupees in the previous three months and 103.4 billion rupees a year ago. –Bloomberg


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