State Bank of India expects credit growth to remain broad-based across major business segments and has retained its loan growth guidance of 14-15% for the current financial year, an SBI executive said on Friday.
The country's largest lender by assets also expects to mobilise around $10 billion in subsidised foreign-currency deposits, after raising about $6 billion through the deposits so far.
"Credit growth remained broad based across all major business segments," the executive said during a post-results interaction.
SBI has so far mobilised $6 billion in subsidised foreign-currency deposits, with the traction indicating that the bank could raise around $10 billion, the executive said. The lender does not intend to change the interest rate on these deposits at this juncture, the executive added.
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SBI has also retained its net interest margin guidance at 3% for the financial year.
"We are sticking to net interest margin guidance of 3%," the executive said.
On asset quality, the lender said it was not currently concerned about any potential impact from El Nino conditions.
"El Nino impact is not yet seen as a concern to asset quality," the executive said.
The bank also remains focused on improving operating efficiency and aims to keep its cost-to-income ratio below 50%.
SBI's comments came after it reported a better-than-expected performance for the quarter ended June 30. Net profit rose 10.2% year-on-year to Rs 21,121 crore, compared with analysts' estimate of Rs 19,102 crore, according to LSEG data.
Gross loan growth stood at 18.63% during the quarter, with corporate credit rising 18.05% and retail personal loans increasing 15.15%. Deposits grew 9.73% from a year earlier.
Net interest income rose nearly 15% to Rs 46,992 crore, while domestic net interest margin expanded 7 basis points from the previous quarter to 3%.
Asset quality also improved marginally, with gross non-performing assets at 1.47% of total loans, compared with 1.49% three months earlier.
