The logo of State Bank of India (SBI) is seen on the facade of its headquarters in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Representational image.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Economic department of State Bank of India (SBI) has pegged India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for Q3 FY25 at 6.2% to 6.3%.

“Impinging upon our in-house developed ‘Nowcasting Model’ that leverages 36 high frequency indicators, we estimate
the GDP growth for Q3 FY25 should come around 6.2%-6.3% (data due on 28th February),” said SBI in a Special Research Report on Wednesday.

The RBI had in December projected the Q3 FY25 GDP growth rate at 6.8%.

“Presuming no major revisions announced in the erstwhile Q1 and Q2 figures by National Statistical Office (NSO), we estimate the FY25 full year GDP at 6.3%,” it said.

At the last MPC meeting earlier this month the RBI had projected the FY25 GDP growth at 6.4%.

Stating that the percentage of indicators showing acceleration has increased to 74% in Q3FY25 vs 71% in Q2FY25, it said a healthy rural economy is further reinforcing stability and sustains momentum in other sectors even as rural agriculture wage growth is consistent and domestic tractor sales and rabi crop sown have picked up momentum.

It said the slowdown in current household inflation expectations encourages higher discretionary spending and drives demand-led growth. 

“Moderation in declining consumer confidence suggests that households are now optimistic about global developments, disinflation process, and economic prospects – enabling long-term sustainable growth,” it stated. 

“CAPEX is showing improvement in Q3 FY25 with majority of the states’ capex as % of Budget Estimate (BE) being lower in FY25 on date but embracing a momentum in Q3 FY25 which augurs well for future developments,” it said. 

“IIP [Index of Industrial Production] manufacturing growth has improved from 3.3% in Q2 FY25 to 4.3 % in Q3 FY25 and SBI Index also showing positive momentum in Q3,” it added. 

According to SBI, India Inc. has reported positive EBIDTA growth/margins (44 bps) after two quarters, while Corporate GVA has improved substantially (QoQ).

About 4000 Corporate in listed space reported revenue growth of 6.2% while EBIDTA and profit after tax (PAT) grew by around 11% and 12% respectively in Q3FY25 as compared to Q3FY24, it said. 

“What is pertinent to mention is the same set of corporate reported EBIDTA growth of around 5% in Q3FY25 as compared to negative EBIDTA growth in last two quarters of FY25,” it said. 

At aggregate level, EBIDTA margin improved by around 44 bps in Q3FY25 to 14.84% from 14.4% in Q2FY25. Corporate GVA improved by around 300 bps in Q3FY25 (YoY).

New Delhi:

The government has approved the appointment of Rama Mohan Rao Amara for the position of managing director of the State Bank of India (SBI).

Mr Amara, Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India, has been appointed as managing director in the bank for a period of three years, with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the lender said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, citing a government notification.

He will fill the vacancy created due to the elevation of CS Setty as chairman of the country’s largest lender.

The SBI board is headed by a Chairman assisted by four managing directors. With the selection of Amara, SBI will get its fourth MD.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Photo used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

SBI on Friday (November 8, 2024) reported a 23% on-year jump in consolidated net profit at ₹19,782 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

The consolidated net profit for the corresponding period last year stood at ₹16,099 crore.

On a standalone basis, the country’s largest lender reported a net profit of ₹18,331 crore, as against ₹14,330 crore in the year ago period and ₹17,035 crore in the preceding quarter.

The total income of the bank which has seen a leadership transition with C S Setty taking over as the chairman in August rose to ₹1.29 lakh crore, from ₹1.12 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

The total expenditure moved up to ₹99,847 crore in the quarter under review, from ₹92,752 crore in the year-ago period.

Provisions for bad assets nearly doubled to ₹3,631 crore from ₹1,814 crore, and the gross non-performing assets ratio stood at 2.13% as on September 30, as against 2.21% in June.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). File
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Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled lower for the sixth straight session on Monday (October 7, 2024) due to heavy selling in bellwether stocks including HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid mixed trends in the global markets and outflow of foreign funds.

Falling for the sixth consecutive session, the BSE Sensex tumbled 638.45 points or 0.78% to settle at 81,050. During the day, it plummeted 962.39 points or 1.17% to 80,726.06.

The NSE Nifty slumped 218.85 points or 0.87% to end at 24,795.75.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, NTPC, State Bank of India, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Titan and UltraTech Cement were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra defied the trend.

“The Indian markets have entered a consolidation phase with high risk of underperforming to Asian peers. This phase is marked by significant corrections in the broader market due to premium valuations. There is notable global arbitrage activity, with Chinese markets attracting substantial inflows driven by its attractive valuations and stimulus measures,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude surged 2.09% to $79.68 a barrel.

European markets were trading on a mixed note on Monday (October 7, 2024).

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul settled higher.

Wall Street ended with gains on Friday (October 4, 2024).

Investors are reassessing their portfolio positions and FIIs outflows are exacerbated. Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, the surging oil prices pose a further challenge to the domestic economy in the short term, Mr. Nair added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹9,896.95 crore on Friday (October 4, 2024), while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹8,905.08 crore, according to exchange data.

On Friday (October 4, 2024), the BSE Sensex tumbled 808.65 points to settle at a three-week low of 81,688.45, while NSE Nifty slumped 235.50 points to 25,014.60.

Last week, the BSE Sensex tanked 3,883.4 points, or 4.53%, and the Nifty slumped 1,164.35 points or 4.44%.

State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty. File
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to open 600 branches across the country in the current financial year in a bid to tap business opportunities in emerging areas including large residential townships.

“We have strong branch expansion plans…this would be mainly focused on emerging areas. A lot of residential colonies are not covered by us. Around 600 branches are something we are planning in the current year,” SBI Chairman C.S. Setty told PTI in an interview.

The country’s biggest lender opened 137 branches last fiscal. Of the total, 59 new rural branches were inaugurated.

SBI has a network of 22,542 branches across the country as of March 2024.

Apart from branch presence, SBI has 65,000 ATMs and 85,000 business correspondents.

“We serve about 50 crore customers and we take pride in saying that we are the banker to every Indian, and, more importantly, to every Indian family,” he said.

He also said it would be his endeavour to transform SBI into the best bank, the most valued bank not only from a shareholder point of view but from the point of view of every stakeholder who deals with SBI.

“It could be my customers, it could be our shareholders, it could be the larger ecosystem – the society, the institutional framework – all the stakeholders should be saying that this is the best bank to deal with,” he added.

In a bid to attract depositors, State Bank of India is contemplating to come out with innovative products including a combo product of recurring deposit and SIP.

With the economy progressing, he said, customers are becoming financially more aware and demanding, and have started looking for innovative investment instruments.

“Obviously, nobody wants to put everything in a risky asset or a speculative asset…banking products will always be part of the basket. So, we are trying to bring products which will appeal to them,” he said.

“We are trying to bring innovation in some of the conventional products like recurring deposit, which is actually a conventional SIP…Maybe, we can combine both fixed deposit/recurring deposit and SIP, a combo product that could be digitally accessible,” he said.

Besides, he said, the bank has undertaken a massive outreach programme for the deposit mobilisation.

“As I said, for us, deposit mobilisation is a franchisee job. We have the largest number of physical outlets across the country. We are leveraging our huge physical reach by initiating outreach programmes where customers are contacted. Today, the effort on the part of SBI is to reach out to every customer both existing as well as new customers,” he said.

According to exchange data, equities worth ₹9,791.93 crore were sold by FIIs on Monday, September 30, 2024, while Domestic Institutional Investors DIIs purchased equities valued at ₹6,645.80 crore. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty edged lower on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), extending the losing run to the third day amid profit-taking in oil & gas and select FMCG shares.

The BSE Sensex dipped 33.49 points or 0.04% to settle at 84,266.29. During the day, it hit a high of 84,648.40 and a low of 84,098.94.

The NSE Nifty closed marginally lower by 13.95 points or 0.05% to 25,796.90.

Muted trends in global markets and heavy foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment, analysts said.

From the 30 Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Titan, Reliance Industries and NTPC were among the major laggards.

Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, HCL Technologies and State Bank of India were among the major gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled higher. South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday on Tuesday (October 1, 2024). Markets in mainland China will be closed for the rest of the week due to holiday.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. The U.S. markets ended in the positive territory on Monday (September 30, 2024).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹9,791.93 crore on Monday (September 30, 2024), while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹6,645.80 crore, according to exchange data.

India’s manufacturing sector growth fell to an eight-month low in September amid softer increase in factory production, sales and new export orders, a monthly survey said on Tuesday (October 1, 2024).

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 57.5 in August to 56.5 in September, registering the weakest pace of growth since January.

In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.66% to $ 70.51 barrel.

The BSE benchmark tumbled 1,272.07 points or 1.49% to settle at 84,299.78 on Monday (September 30, 2024). During the day, it plunged 1,314.71 points or 1.53% to 84,257.14. The Nifty tanked 368.10 points or 1.41% to 25,810.85.

 Challa Sreenivasulu Setty

The central government has approved the appointment of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as new Chairman and Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh as Managing Director of the State Bank of India (SBI) as the current Chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, is set to retire on August 28.

According to a notification by the Department of Personnel & Training, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on August 6 approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the appointment of Challa Sreenivasulu Setty as chairman of SBI. The ACC has approved the appointment of Mr. Setty, 59, the current Managing Director (MD) of SBI as the new Chairman of the country’s biggest lender, for a period of three years, effective from the date he assumes office, on or after August 28, 2024.

The government order states, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the appointment of Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty (DOB: 26.09.1965), Managing Director (MD), State Bank of India (SBI) as Chairman, SBI for a period of three (03) years w.e.f. the date of assumption of charge of the office, on or after 28.08.2024.”

Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh to take over as MD

Additionally, Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh, the current Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of SBI, has been appointed as the new Managing Director. His appointment will take effect from the date he assumes office.

The government order read, “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for appointment of Shri Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh, Deputy Managing Director (DMD), State Bank of India (SBI) as Managing Director (MD) in SBI with effect from the date of assumption of office.”

According to SBI, Challa Sreenivasulu Setty joined the Board of SBI as Managing Director in January 2020 and currently oversees International Banking, Global Markets, and Technology wings of the Bank. He has previously headed the Retail & Digital Banking vertical and various task forces/committees formed by the Government of India.

Mr. Setty holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He began his career with SBI in 1988 as a Probationary Officer. Over his three-decade-long career, he has gained rich experience in corporate credit, retail, digital, and international banking, as well as banking in developed markets

Mr..Setty has also held key positions within SBI, including Deputy Managing Director – Stressed Assets Resolution Group, Chief General Manager, and General Manager in the Corporate Accounts Group, Deputy General Manager in the Mid-Corporate Group, and Vice President & Head (Syndications) at SBI’s New York Branch.

SBI posted a net profit of ₹16,884 crore in the April-June quarter of 2023-24. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

State Bank of India (SBI) on August 3 reported an almost flat standalone net profit at ₹17,035 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year.

The country’s biggest lender had posted a net profit of ₹16,884 crore in the April-June quarter of 2023-24.

“The bank’s total income increased to ₹1,22,688 crore in the first quarter against ₹1,08,039 crore a year ago,” SBI said in a regulatory filing.

During the quarter, the bank earned an interest income of ₹1,11,526 crore compared to ₹95,975 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the total advances declined to 2.21% in the first quarter from 2.76% at June-end last year.

Similarly, its net NPAs also eased to 0.57% in June 2024 from 0.71 % a year ago. On a consolidated basis, SBI’s net profit rose marginally to ₹19,325 crore against ₹18,537 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

At the same time, its total income increased to ₹1,52,125 crore compared to ₹1,32,333 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year.

Besides approving the results, the board also cleared proposals for raising funds in Rupee or dollar by issuing Basel III compliant additional Tier 1 bonds and Tier 2 bonds of up to ₹25,000 crore to domestic and/or overseas investors during FY25.

“The fundraising would be subject to the approval of the Central government, wherever required,” the lender said.

A report by the SBI called for more reforms in the banking sector in India. File
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As the Central government prepares for the Union Budget presentation on July 23, a research report by the State Bank of India (SBI) has highlighted crucial areas that need attention to drive sustainable economic growth and development in the country.

The report emphasises adherence to fiscal prudence while continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation, suggesting a fiscal deficit target of around 4.9%. “Government should focus on adherence to fiscal prudence and continue on the fiscal consolidation path, but at the same time refrain from obsessing too much over the fiscal stance,” the report stated.

To provide relief in tax structures, the report advocates aligning personal income tax rates with corporate taxes and gradually transitioning all payers to the New Tax Regime.

Additionally, it recommended considering tax parity for bank deposits to attract more savings and boost household financial savings.

For the agriculture sector, it highlighted the need to address issues like financing, livelihood support and the Agri Credit Guarantee Trust Fund.

The report also noted that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) has become politicised and suggested exploring alternatives as the current MSP policy reduces trade and export competitiveness. “The issues innate to MSP mechanism viz. needless politics, disincentivising private investment, neglect of non-MSP crops, reduction in export competitiveness and burden of trade disputes alternative mechanism needs to be looked into vigorously, viz. obligation to private parties for buying crops at MSP,” it said.

The report also suggested developing a comprehensive mineral strategy, especially for critical minerals, to ensure mass employment and secure the supply chain from exploration to recycling.

It called for more reforms in the banking sector in India, including the divestment of public sector banks (PSBs) and the stake sale in IDBI Bank. “After a decade of transformative changes, the Indian banking system stands much healthier ready to scale up to meet emerging challenges as the country embarks on the Viksit Bharat sojourn” it said. It also recommended changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the promotion of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for MSMEs to reduce import dependency.

The report also noted that by incorporating these suggestions into the upcoming Budget, the Government can lay a strong foundation for sustainable growth, promote financial inclusion, and drive economic resilience in the post-pandemic era.