India's third-largest lender by market capitalisation, State Bank of India (SBI), deserves a better valuation than the market currently assigns it, chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said in an interview with the Mint, arguing that investors are beginning to recognise improvements in the bank's financial strength, customer franchise and earnings profile.
Setty's comments come as SBI narrows the valuation gap with private-sector rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The chairman argued that the bank's scale, improving financial performance and valuable subsidiaries are not fully reflected in its share price, citing progress in areas such as technology adoption, capital strength and customer acquisition.
