The market capitalization of the State Bank of India (SBI) crossed the Rs 8 lakh crore mark on Monday after the bank’s shares surged by 9 per cent during a rally in the stock market, hitting an all-time high of Rs 912.

SBI’s shares have increased by more than 50 per cent in the past six months.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently posted on social media that India’s banking sector had achieved a significant milestone by recording its highest-ever net profit, exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore.

She emphasized that the government will take decisive steps to further strengthen the banking sector.

“Between 2014 and 2023, banks recovered more than Rs 10 lakh crores from bad loans,” she said.

The Nifty Bank index also surged to a record high on Monday, crossing the 50,000 mark for the first time.

The Nifty index touched a new high of 50,990, with all banking stocks in the index trading with gains at the time of filing this report.

In its recently released quarterly results, SBI reported a standalone net profit of Rs 20,698.35 crore, reflecting a 24% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth, driven by higher interest income and minimal provisions.

The bank reported a 15.24 per cent year-over-year (YoY) credit growth at the end of March 2024.

(With ANI input)