<div>State Bank of India, the nation's top lender by assets, reported a better-than-expected 23 per cent increase in quarterly profit and a lower bad loan ratio, sending its shares more than 5 per cent higher.</div><div> </div><div>SBI, which accounts for about a quarter of Indian loans and deposits, said net profit rose to Rs 3,742 crore ($589.11 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter to March 31 from Rs 3,041 crore a year earlier.</div><div> </div><div>Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 3,723 crore, according Thomson Reuters data.</div><div> </div><div>Gross bad loans ratio stood at 4.25 per cent in the March quarter, compared with 4.9 per cent in the December quarter.</div><div> </div><div>(Reuters)</div><div> </div>
