February 6, 2025 – India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), announced its financial results for the October-December quarter on Thursday. While the bank's Net Interest Income (NII) saw a modest 4.1% year-on-year increase to ₹41,446 crore, it fell short of the ₹42,592 crore projected by a CNBC-TV18 poll.
Strong Profit Growth Despite NII Miss
SBI reported a net profit of ₹16,801 crore, marking an impressive 84% year-on-year growth and surpassing analysts' expectations of ₹16,099 crore.
Stable Asset Quality and Loan Growth
The bank's Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) ratio improved slightly to 2.07% from 2.13% in the previous quarter, while the Net NPA remained steady at 0.53%.
SBI saw a 14% year-on-year growth in loans, while deposits increased by 10% compared to the same quarter last year.
Provisions and Net Interest Margin
SBI’s provisions for the quarter stood at ₹911 crore, higher than the ₹688 crore recorded in the same period last year but significantly lower than the ₹4,506 crore in the previous quarter.
The bank’s Net Interest Margin (NIM) came in at 3.01%, down from 3.14% in the previous quarter.
SBI Chairman’s Outlook
During a post-earnings interaction, SBI Chairman C.S. Setty expressed confidence in the bank’s growth trajectory, highlighting expectations of double-digit growth in unsecured personal loans.
He also noted that the corporate loan book remains strong, as many companies have deleveraged and underwriting standards have improved.
On the Microfinance Institution (MFI) front, Setty acknowledged some industry-wide stress but emphasized that SBI’s MFI portfolio of ₹10,000-₹11,000 crore remains relatively small.
Market Reaction
Following the earnings announcement, SBI shares fell 1.8% to ₹752.7 in Thursday’s trading session.
