SBI's Sept qtr consolidated net profit rises 23% to ₹19,782 crore

On a standalone basis, SBI reported Q2 net profit of Rs 18,331 crore

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MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday reported a 23 percent jump in consolidated net profit for the September quarter at Rs 19,782 crore, helped by an increase in non-interest income and treasury profits.

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

Its core net interest income grew 5.37 percent to Rs 41,620 crore despite a 15 percent increase in advances, as a 0.15 percent narrowing in the net interest margin to 3.14 percent caused a pull. Non-interest income grew 42 percent to Rs 15,271 crore, helped by gains on forex and treasury.

Newly appointed chairman C S Setty said the bank is maintaining the 14-16 percent advances growth target for the fiscal, but lowering the deposit growth target to around 10 percent, as against 12-13 percent earlier. "The intensity of effort for deposit mobilization gives me confidence that (deposit growth) will definitely be in double digits if not 12-13 percent," Setty told reporters, in comments that came days after Bank of Baroda lowered its deposit growth target.

The bank's profit is the highest among any commercial entity, and Setty said it is aspiring for a profit of Rs 1 lakh crore in a fiscal but declined to give a timeline.