Expect RBI to pause rate hike from next quarter as inflation abates: SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara Exclusive Interview: This could be the last interest rate hike before the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decides to put pause further hikes, State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara told Zee Business in an exclusive interview. He said that with inflation now returning to relatively normal levels, he was hopeful that the Indian Central Bank will put a stop on rate hikes.

Any pause would however hinge upon that data that RBI gets before taking any decision, he added.

He was responding to a question on what his expectations were on the interest rate hike in this monetary policy announcement.

The three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which started on Monday will conclude on 8 February and will be followed by announcement of policy rates by Governor Shaktikanta Das.

SBI’s expansion in Bank Net Interest Margins (NIM) will hinge upon the interest rate hike undertaken by the MPC, he said.

The Net Interest Income (NII) for the reporting quarter is at Rs 38,068 crore, up over 24 per cent year-on-year.   

SBI also reported its highest ever profit of Rs 14,205 crore in the December quarter — up over 68 per cent year-on-year. He attributed the robust net profit to better underwriting and better control and follow-up practices.

He was hopeful that the opportunities of loan growth for the bank will remain intact going ahead. The bank will be able to earn good profits for investors who sustain their interest in the SBI stock.

The state-run bank has a market share of 25 per cent and is the largest public sector lender.

The quality of NPAs have improved with gross NPA at down from 3.52 per cent to 3.14 per cent while Net NPAs at 0.77 per cent, down by 0.80 per cent, the SBI chairman said, adding that this has led to decline in the credit cost for the bank at 0.21 per cent.  

The bank reported slippages worth Rs 3081 crore for the October-December quarter which is up from Rs 2,500 crore during the previous quarter. However, it has been able to recover 20 per cent of the amount in January which has taken it to the levels of the previous quarter.   

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आगे लोन बुक में और सुधार आने की संभावना: दिनेश खारा, चेयरमैन, SBI

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On slowness in demand of the home loans, he said that it has not impacted SBI and the bank registered a 24 per cent growth in this segment during the December quarter. The growth can be attributed to a countrywide presence of SBI branches and improvement in the processing capabilities of the bank. The quality of loan book is quite good, he opined.

On the issue of wage hike bill, he said that SBI has provisioned Rs 1,996 crore for wage increase at the rate of 10 per cent and the increment is applicable from November which translates into approximately Rs 500 crore on the monthly basis.