State Bank of India today posted 67 per cent decline in consolidated profit to Rs 1,259.49 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015-16, on account of higher provisioning for bad loans.
The SBI Group had registered a net profit of Rs 3,828.20 crore in the October-December quarter of the 2014-15 fiscal.
On a standalone basis, the SBI net profit plummeted by 61.6 per cent to Rs 1,115.34 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal. It was at Rs 2,910.06 crore in the year ago period.
However, total income of the bank rose to Rs 46,731 crore during the third quarter, from Rs 43,784 crore in the same period of last fiscal.
The total provisioning for non-performing assets jumped significantly to Rs 7,644.52 crore during the December quarter, up from Rs 5,327.51 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
The financial result has been arrived at after considering necessary provisions for NPAs, standard assets and investment depreciation on the basis of prudential norms issued by RBI, SBI said in a statement.
The gross Non-performing Assets (NPAs), which represent portion of bad loans, stood at Rs 72,791.73 crore at the end of December, up from Rs 61,991.45 crore in the year ago period.
As of December 31, the bank's portfolio quality declined, with gross NPAs at 5.10 per cent of gross advances, as against 4.90 per cent a year ago.
Its net NPAs during the third quarter rose to 2.89 per cent, from 2.80 per cent in the period a year earlier.
SBI stock was trading at Rs 156, down nearly 2 per cent in the afternoon trade on BSE.
Recently, Bhattacharya had said that retail loans to GDP
in the country are at less than 10 per cent, which is one of the lowest among the emerging markets.
She had said: "I think we have still a lot of uncovered space in retail segment to grow. The median age in India is 26.5. So, obviously these are people who need these loans in order to fulfil their very many aspirations.
"I think what is being done now is to fulfil an unmet demand. I don't think we are in bubble territory as yet as long as we continue to maintain our good underwriting standards and also get the help of digital which will enable us to have even better picture."
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had raised concerns about lenders, especially state-run banks, shunning project loans and aggressively targeting retail loans.
Bhattacharya said growth numbers of retail segment which she sees at SBI or other peers and NBFCs do not show any major stresses build-up.
"It is just that it is the role of the regulator to look at all areas where there is rapid growth to ensure that there isn't been something wrong that has been building up.
"That is the role of the regulator," she added.
With the pay commission awards coming into the system and the festive season kicking in, she said she expects good traction in the retail space.
