(Bloomberg) -- State Bank of India’s profit rose 55% in the first quarter, driven by strong non-interest earnings and lower bad loan provisions at the country’s largest lender.

Net income rose 55% to 65 billion rupees ($876.2 million) in the three months to June, according to a statement Wednesday. That beat the average estimate of 54 billion rupees from 14 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

The results from SBI, which controls a fifth of India’s loan market, are a key barometer of the nation’s financial health and the lender plays a key role in the economy’s revival from the pandemic. The bank has been the country’s best performing state-run lender with relatively good asset quality compared to its peers, a strong secured retail lending portfolio and a robust bad-loan cushion.

Key Insights

• SBI’s gross bad loan ratio widened to 5.32% at the end of June, from 4.98% three months earlier
• Bank set aside 100.5 billion rupees for provisions, compared with 110.5 billion rupees in the March quarter and 125 billion rupees a year ago

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