SynopsisState Bank of India reported a strong first quarter with net profit rising over ten percent. Gross advances surpassed fifty lakh crore rupees, marking significant growth for the bank. Asset quality indicators showed marked improvement year-on-year, with GNPA declining. The bank maintained its full-year credit growth guidance at fourteen to fifteen percent. SBI is deploying Responsible AI Policy to enhance cybersecurity and operational efficiency.ANISBI Chairman rules out asset quality stress in Q1, says seasonality distorts sequential NPAsState Bank of India (SBI) Chairman CS Setty on Friday dismissed concerns over sequential asset quality pressure and slowing private capex in the bank, clarifying that Q1 FY27 performance is subject to seasonal variations in the sector.During the bank's recent financial results press conference in Mumbai, Setty signalled a robust outlook for the fiscal year.Responding to ANI's query on sequential stress and what caused the uptick in Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPAs) to Rs 74,273 crore and slippages to 0.57%, and whether a 0.28% quarter-on-quarter dip in corporate advances signals slowing private capex, the chairman cautioned against drawing premature conclusions from sequential quarterly comparisons."Q1 tends to be an outlier quarter from many aspects, whether in terms of business, yield income, or credit growth rates, because Q2, Q3, and Q4 pick up substantially. I normally suggest please don't compare sequentially. We have also highlighted that seasonality exists in this business... If you compare it year-on-year, there is a significant basis point improvement across overall aggregates. Recoveries and upgrades pulled back around Rs 4,900 crore, so there is nothing concerning or significant there," Setty said.Also read: UPI to remain free for consumers, says Payments Council of India— ANI (@ANI) Answering a query on whether rapid expansion in agricultural advances (up 25.43%) and SME loans (up 22.33%) harboured early signs of default or asset quality stress, particularly under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), he reaffirmed that portfolio risk remains well-managed and high-quality."While we do have non-ECLGS growth as well, the SME numbers you see are predominantly supported by ECLGS. On agriculture, growth is driven by institutional finance, investment credit, and other structured segments. So, the growth contribution is coming from high-quality portfolios," the SBI chief noted.During his address, the chairman further noted that SBI has maintained its full-year credit growth guidance at 14% to 15%, backed by broad-based demand across MSME, retail, and corporate segments. He projects deposit growth of SBI at double digits between 10% and 11%, supported by healthy retail CASA growth, with additional headroom to comfortably push the Credit-to-Deposit (CD) ratio up to 80%.To optimise funding costs and replace high-cost wholesale deposits, the bank has mobilised $1 billion via commercial paper and aims to tap up to $10 billion in Foreign Currency Non-Resident FCNR(B) deposits. These would be backed by a substantial excess SLR liquidity buffer exceeding Rs 4 lakh crore.Setty said that the management reaffirmed its key full-year targets, maintaining Net Interest Margin (NIM) at approximately 3.00%, Return on Assets (ROA) at around 1.00%, and Return on Equity (ROE) above 15%.Being a leading player in UPI and digital transactions, the bank is deploying a Board-approved Responsible AI Policy to reinforce cybersecurity, anti-money laundering controls, and back-office processing efficiency, Setty noted.Also read: RBI classifies Tata Sons as Upper-Layer NBFC under revised frameworkSBI Q1FY earnings:10.23% year-on-year increase in standalone net profit to Rs 21,121 crore, up from Rs 19,160 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscalNet Interest Income (NII) surged 14.88% year-on-year to Rs 46,992 croreGross advances crossed the Rs 50 lakh crore mark to reach Rs 50.47 lakh croreGross NPA ratio declining by 36 basis points to 1.47% and Net NPA standing at 0.38% Total business crossed the Rs 110 lakh crore milestone during the quarter, driven by total deposits reaching Rs 60.06 lakh crore(With inputs from ANI)Read More News on...moreless