State Bank of India

SBI reported record Q1 FY27 net profit of INR 21,121 crores. Operating profit grew 9.77% year-on-year, and domestic net interest margin remained at 3%. Management said total business crossed INR 110 trillion, deposits exceeded INR 60 trillion, and advances crossed INR 50 trillion. Fresh slippages were INR 7,046 crores, of which about INR 1,400-1,500 crores had already been pulled back. For fees and other items, management said dividend income was INR 31 crores versus INR 72 crores in Q1 FY26, interest on income tax refund was INR 220 crores, and other provisions of INR 1,269 crores included about INR 750-800 crores of PLI provisioning that will be amortized over the year. Looking ahead, management reaffirmed full-year credit growth guidance of 14% to 15% and full-year NIM guidance of 3%.

Chairman Challa Setty said the quarter showed SBI balancing growth, resilience, and ongoing digital transformation despite a volatile global backdrop. He highlighted initiatives such as digital re-KYC, YONO upgrades, YONO Ji, trade finance integration, MSME Dream, expanded agri digitization, and PRISM for predictive stress monitoring. His tone was confident but measured: he emphasized broad-based growth, strong asset quality, and a focus on quality of growth rather than chasing volume alone.

The CFO/commentary from finance and related responses pointed to stable margins, with domestic NIM at 3% and no major impact expected from FCNRB on either domestic or overseas margins. Management said the bank had INR 3.06 lakh crores of excess SLR as of June 30, rising to INR 4 lakh crores as of now, and that bulk-deposit dependence was declining. On provisions, management explained the INR 1,269 crores in other provisions as including roughly INR 750-800 crores of PLI costs, to be spread across four quarters rather than taken all at once.

Analysts pressed management on slower percentage business growth, higher slippages, lower miscellaneous income, and the jump in provisions. Setty responded that deposit pricing is highly competitive, retail term deposits were still growing 14%, savings balances were up 10%, and the apparent expense/income swings were partly due to quarter-to-quarter booking patterns that should be judged year on year. On FCNRB, management said roughly $6 billion had already been mobilized, with total mobilization expected around $10 billion, and that the proceeds were mainly supporting foreign-office leverage without material net NIM impact. Analysts also asked about ECL; management said it was not ready to give a number yet, but did not expect a major impact and planned to present estimates in Q2.