State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman CS Setty on Friday dismissed concerns over sequential asset quality pressure and slowing private capex in the bank, clarifying that Q1 FY27 performance is subject to seasonal variations in the sector.
During the bank's recent financial results press conference in Mumbai, Setty signalled a robust outlook for the fiscal year.
Responding to ANI's query on sequential stress and what caused the uptick in Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPAs) to Rs 74,273 crore and slippages to 0.57%, and whether a 0.28% quarter-on-quarter dip in corporate advances signals slowing private capex, the chairman cautioned against drawing premature conclusions from sequential quarterly comparisons.
"Q1 tends to be an outlier quarter from many aspects, whether in terms of business, yield income, or credit growth rates, because Q2, Q3, and Q4 pick up substantially. I normally suggest please don't compare sequentially. We have also highlighted that seasonality exists in this business... If you compare it year-on-year, there is a significant basis point improvement across overall aggregates. Recoveries and upgrades pulled back around Rs 4,900 crore, so there is nothing concerning or significant there," Setty said.
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