SBI Cards growth nears pre-Covid level on higher spends, new card sourcing

Asset quality needs monitoring as Q3's gross NPA ratio of 4.5 per cent is higher than average

The SBI Cards and Payments Services (SBI Cards) stock has gained about five per cent since its December quarter (Q3) results. This is despite the lender’s operating profit falling by three per cent year-on-year (YoY) and net profit by about 50 per cent YoY. What’s more, at Rs 648 crore, provisioning cost rose by 72 per cent YoY, marking the fourth straight quarter of elevated provisioning costs.

Yet, what worked is the eight per cent YoY growth in overall credit card spends to Rs 37,800 crore and a strong rebound in new cards sourcing — up 34 per cent sequentially in