Country's leading bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) has reported an increase of 15.4 per cent in net profit to Rs. 3,263 crore in the quarter till December 2011.

The higher than expected results in the quarter were mainly due to profits from treasury. The bank's interest margin rose to 4.05 per cent in the quarter, recording an increase of 26 basis points.

Meanwhile, the net non-performing assets (NPAs), which have become a cause of concern in the country, has increased by to 2.22 per cent from 2.04 per cent recorded at the end of September, 2011. NPS's increased by Rs. 6,000 crore in the December 2011 quarter.

Bank's operating profits grew at just 7.7 per cent to Rs. 7,260 crore mainly due to one-time charge of Rs 870 crore on equity investments.

SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri insisted: "Incrementally, NPAs appear to have plateaued." Speaking at a press conference after announcing the results, he said that a single airline account (Kingfisher) had contributed R1,400 crore to the slippages with agriculture accounting for another R770 crore."

SBI's new slippages of Rs. 8,161 crore during the December 2011 quarter, which resulted a fall of 2 per cent to Rs. 2,129 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).