SBI's Setty: Pvt capex up, tariffs under watch

SBI POSTED A NET PROFIT OF ₹16,891 CRORE IN THE DEC QUARTER, UP 84.3% FROM A YEAR EARLIER

- Anshika Kayastha

MUMBAI: Private sector capital expenditure has begun to pick up, though not so much in core sectors such as steel, State Bank of India chairman C.S. Setty said. However, SBI's corporate credit pipeline remains strong, and the Union budget's effort to raise consumption should prompt industries with capacity utilisation close to 75% to expand, he said.

"Private capex is definitely happening. But I think private capital expenditure in the core sector, particularly steel, is yet to pick up," Setty said at a press conference after the bank's December quarter earnings release.

Banks are keeping a watch on the global tariff landscape, he said, after the US unveiled tariffs against three of its top trading partners. "If you see, the export base of India is highly diversified both in terms of geographies and also in terms of the product profile. So, I do not see immediate impact of any tariffs," he said. However, this could create some uncertainty, and this is something we have to tide over, Setty added.

The bank, India's largest lender, posted a net profit of ₹16,891 crore in the December quarter, up 84.3% from a year earlier. A large part of this was due to a pension burden of ₹7,100 crore in the previous year.

SBI shares closed 1.79% lower on the BSE on Thursday, while the benchmark Sensex index fell 0.27%. SBI has sanctioned but not disbursed corporate loans of ₹2 lakh crore and has another ₹2.6 lakh crore under process, amounting to a total pipeline of about ₹4.8 lakh crore as at the end of December.