State Bank of India expects profit to exceed $2.08bn

Despite series of diminished profit in the previous quarters, the lender hopes to get $519.92mn second quarter profit.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India profit in the current fiscal is likely to exceed Rs 10,000 crore ($2.08 billion) on the back of increased business and sustained effort to contain bad assets.

"The bank is making all-round effort to achieve Rs 10,000 crore profit during the year," senior officials of the bank said.

State Bank of India (SBI) had posted a net profit of Rs 8,265 crore ($1.72 billion) in 2010-11, 9.84 per cent lower than that in 2009-10, mainly due to higher pension, gratuity, loan loss provisions, higher investment and standard assets provision on special home loan scheme.

For the first quarter of the current financial year, SBI recorded a net profit of Rs 1,584 crore ($329.56 million), down almost 46 per cent from the year-ago period.

Hit by higher provisioning for bad loans and increased tax outgo, the net profit of the SBI's profit tanked by about 99 per cent to Rs 20.8 crore ($4.33 million) for the fourth quarter ended March, 2011.

However, SBI hopes to clock a net profit of Rs 2,500 crore ($519.92 million) in the second quarter of 2011-12.

View the full story in The Indian Express.