Higher non-interest income, low rates keep lenders buoyant in Q3

Asset quality remains the key monitorable with gap between proforma and reported NPAs widening

The Nifty Bank index, with gains of over 12 per cent in a month, is the clear outperformer among sector indices. On an average, bank stocks have rallied by 8-20 per cent in this period, with State Bank of India (SBI) (38 per cent gains during this period) leading the table. Much of the stock price movement is in reaction to the better- than-expected results for the December 2020 quarter (Q3).

With the loan recast contained at less than 1 per cent so far and banks on the path to end with lower than estimated restructuring requests (2-3 per cent