1. At a Glance – SBI in One Breath (and One Raised Eyebrow)
State Bank of India is not a bank, it’s a financial ecosystem wearing a khaki uniform. With a market cap of ₹9.8 lakh crore, SBI alone is bigger than most emerging market banking systems. The stock is trading at ₹1,066, up 30% in 6 months and 45% in 1 year, while still quoting at a modest 12.1× P/E and 1.66× book.
Q3 FY26 numbers?
- Quarterly PAT: ₹21,317 Cr (+13.1% YoY)
- Quarterly Revenue: ₹1,30,590 Cr
- TTM PAT: ₹81,060 Cr
- ROE: 17.2%
- ROA: 1.15%
Asset quality continues to clean up like a disciplined hostel warden: GNPA at 2.07%, NNPA at 0.53%, and PCR at 74.66%. Deposits stand at ₹52.3 lakh crore, advances at ₹40.7 lakh crore.
This is not “PSU Bank Revival” anymore. This is PSU Bank Dominance.
So the real question: how is SBI doing all this while still being called “boring”?
2. Introduction – The Only Bank That Is Also the Economy
If India were a Netflix series, SBI would be the longest-running character—introduced in Season 1, still alive in Season 200, and somehow stronger every season.
Founded over 200 years ago, SBI has survived colonial rule, nationalisation, NPA cycles, PSU jokes, fintech hype, private bank chest-thumping, and Twitter experts screaming “sell PSU banks” every year since 2013.
And yet here we are. FY25–FY26 SBI looks less like a lumbering elephant and more like a disciplined blue whale—slow, massive, and capable of wiping out competition just by turning slightly.
Unlike private banks that grow by
cherry-picking customers, SBI grows by owning the entire buffet—retail loans, corporates, SMEs, agriculture, government business, insurance, cards, mutual funds, digital payments, and even WhatsApp banking.
It doesn’t just lend to India. It is India lending to itself.
3. Business Model – WTF Does SBI Even Do?
Short answer: everything that involves money and stress.
Long answer: SBI operates through five major engines:
🧾 Retail Banking (37% of 9M FY25)
Home loans, auto loans, personal loans, education loans—if you’ve ever filled Form A-38 and waited 17 days, SBI was probably involved.
🏭 Corporate Banking (23%)
Large corporates, infrastructure, project finance, working capital. SBI is where balance sheets go when they need muscle.
💹 Treasury (20%)
Bond trading, G-Secs, forex. SBI’s treasury desk is basically RBI-adjacent.
🛡 Insurance (17%)
Through SBI Life and SBI General—quietly minting high-margin, low-capital businesses.
🔧 Others (3%)
Because when you’re SBI, even “others” are big.
What’s interesting is the shift:
- Retail share rising
- Corporate steady
- Treasury moderating
Translation? SBI is de-risking earnings, one boring loan at a time.
4. Financials Overview – Numbers That
