SBI merger delayed due to demonetisation: Arundhati Bhattacharya

The decision to demonetise high-denomination notes caused the delay in the merger of SBI with its associates by one quarter, bank's chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said.

She said that the resolution on bad loans was also impacted due to demonetisation.

Addressing media after SBI posted its Q3 results, she said, "On resolutions happening, we were hopeful that things would start moving by this quarter. However, the demonetisation has actually put us back by a quarter. So, we are working very hard but we don't know if they will come in this quarter or maybe slip over to the next year".

In March 2016, SBI announced its merger with its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB).

Meanwhile, State Bank of India today posted a 71 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,152.2 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016.

The bank had reported a net profit of Rs 1,259.4 crore in the corresponding three-month period a year ago.

Total income on consolidated basis increased to Rs 75,537.2 crore for the quarter under review, from Rs 67,511.45 crore in the same period of FY2015-16.

Its total provisioning for non-performing assets rose to Rs 8,942.83 crore during the December quarter, up from Rs 7,949.38 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Gross Non-performing Assets (NPAs), which represent portion of bad loans, stood at Rs 1.08 lakh crore at the end of December, up from Rs 72,791.73 crore a year ago.

As on December 31, the banks portfolio quality declined, with gross NPAs at 7.23 per cent of gross advances, as against 5.10 per cent a year ago. Its net NPAs during the third quarter rose to 4.24 per cent, from 2.89 per cent in the period a year earlier.

On standalone basis, SBIs net profit grew over two-fold to Rs 2,610 crore for the third quarter from Rs 1,115.3 crore in the October-December period a year ago.

Total income on standalone basis rose to Rs 53,587.5 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 46,731 crore in the same period last fiscal.

SBI stock was trading at Rs 278.90, down nearly 1.11 per cent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.

(With inputs from PTI)