State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Dinesh Khara revealed that the bank is in the process of hiring approximately 12,000 new staff members to support its expansion and digital transformation efforts.
This recruitment drive reportedly aims to enhance the bank’s technological capabilities as well as its overall service offering. According to Khara, the recruits will initially gain exposure to banking fundamentals before transitioning into specialised roles, particularly in information technology.
In Q4 FY24, SBI saw a 24 percent increase in net profit, reaching Rs 20,698 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. This growth surpassed analysts’ expectations of Rs 13,400 crore, was supported by a robust demand for loans. SBI reported a profit of Rs 16,695 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
India’s largest lender showed impressive performance across various metrics. Interest income for the bank rose by 19 percent to Rs 1.11 lakh crore from Rs 92,951 crore a year ago, indicative of strong underlying business activity. Further, the asset quality of the bank has shown improvement, with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) falling to 2.24 percent from 2.78 percent the previous year, marking the lowest in a decade. The net non-performing assets (NPA) also improved to 0.57 percent from 0.67 percent last year.
SBI’s total income also saw a rise to Rs 1.28 lakh crore, up from Rs 1.06 lakh crore in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, operating expenses were relatively contained, growing at a slower rate to Rs 30,276 crore from Rs 29,732 crore in the previous year. Provisions for bad loans were nearly halved to Rs 1,609 crore from Rs 3,315 crore, indicating better risk management and healthier financials.