INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SBI's shares closed up 2.3 per cent at a record high of Rs 456.95.The country's largest lender State Bank of India reported a record
first-quarter profit on Wednesday and bet on economic activity picking up to contain a spike in bad loans, sending its shares to an all-time
high.Domestic banks have struggled to contain bad loans, especially in their retail portfolios, as the pandemic and resultant lockdowns hit
economic activity and limited borrowers' ability to repay loans.SBI posted a four-fold jump in slippages, or new bad loans, for the first
quarter ended June as its home loan and small business segments struggled."If economic activity is back on track, our ability to maintain
better performance in terms of asset quality will be maintained," Chairman Dinesh Khara told reporters after the results.The country's
deadly COVID-19 second wave has eased from a peak in April and May, allowing businesses to get to work, although restrictions are still in
place in some states and analysts worry about a third wave later this year.The bank said it had recovered Rs 47 billion of the June
quarter's Rs 157 billion of slippages in July
It also said it would still aim to keep its current-year slippage ratio at two per cent, compared with the Indian banking industry's
lenders, is to non-salaried people
