State Bank net profit up 42 per cent

Mumbai: India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday reported a 42 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 2,330.37 crore ($481 million) in the first quarter of this fiscal compared to Rs 1,640.79 crore in the like period last year.

SBI, which has around 12,000 branches, controls about a quarter of the total loans and deposits in the country.

The bank has lowered its benchmark prime lending rate from 12.25 per cent to 11.75 per cent effective June 29.