Indian banks record highest profit in a quarter |
Indian commercial banks have reported a combined profit of nearly Rs 60,000 crores or nearly US$ 7.31 billion for the September quarter. This marks an increase of 59% over the Rs 37,567 crores net in the year-ago period. This is the highest profit recorded by Indian banks in any quarter. After major banks reported their results on November 5, the bank Nifty index touched 41,779 on November 7, close to its historic high of 41,840. Private banks have collectively reported a profit of Rs 33,165 crores, which is around 67% more than Rs 19,868 crores in the previous year. Public sector banks have reported a combined net of Rs 25,685 crores for Q2, up 50% from Rs 17,123 crores in FY22. More than half of the profit has been generated by the State Bank of India (SBI), which posted its highest quarterly earnings of Rs 13,256 crores, an increase of 74% over the previous year. SBI’s record net has made it the most profitable company this quarter on a consolidated basis. The consolidated net profit of SBI at Rs 14,752 crores was higher than Reliance Industries’ Rs 13,656 crores. In the private sector, HDFC Bank reported a net profit of Rs 10,605 crores, an increase of 20%. ICICI Bank reported a profit of Rs 7,758 crores (up 37%), Axis Bank Rs 5,330 crores (70% gain), and Kotak Bank Rs 2,581 crores (27% increase). Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted the record performance of public sector banks on November 7 and attributed it to the continuous effort of the government for reducing non-performing assets (NPAs). For public sector banks, the profits for the first half of the current fiscal year were Rs 40,991 crores, an increase of 31% over Rs 31,290 crores in the first half of FY22. The current quarter’s rise in profit is driven by a surge in credit, which grew nearly 20%, even as banks revised their lending rate in line with RBI’s rate hikes.
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