SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd — Q4 FY26 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd filed with BSE on 02 May 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
SBI Cards reported Q4 FY26 total revenue of Rs 5,187 crore, up 7% year-on-year, and profit after tax of Rs 609 crore, up 14% year-on-year, while FY26 profit after tax was Rs 2,167 crore, up 13%. Asset quality improved with gross credit cost down 55 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 7.7% and GNPA down 46 basis points to 2.41%. Management said new account acquisition of 917,000 in the quarter was in line with its stated target range and reiterated that revolver balances are expected to see a slight downward bias in FY27.
Numbers mentioned
Total revenue: Rs 5,187 crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“total revenue during Q4 was INR5,187 crores with 7% growth Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Total revenue: Rs 20,708 crores (FY26)
p. 5
“Total revenue for FY '26 was INR20,708 crores, registering 11% growth Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Profit after tax: Rs 609 crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“we delivered a profit after tax of INR609 crores in Q4 with 14% growth Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Profit after tax: Rs 2,167 crores (FY26)
p. 5
“SBI Card achieved a profit after tax of INR2,167 crores with a 13% growth Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Receivables: Rs 56,926 crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“During Q4 FY '26, our receivables were at INR56,926 crores, around 2% growth Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cost of funds: 6.4% (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“The cost of funds during Q4 was 6.4%, lower by 82 basis points Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net interest margin: 11.1% (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“The net interest margin for the quarter has improved to 11.1% versus 11% in Q3”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cost-to-income ratio: 57.2% (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“The costto-income ratio for Q4 was 57.2% and 55.3% for FY '26”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gross credit cost: 7.7% (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“our gross credit cost has improved by 55 basis points quarter-overquarter to 7.7%”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
GNPA: 2.41% (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“GNPA for the quarter was reduced by 46 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 2.41%”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
New accounts added: 917,000 (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“During the quarter, we added 917,000 new accounts while maintaining a strong focus on qualityled acquisition”
Salila Pande, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Capital adequacy ratio: 25.5% (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“Our capital adequacy ratio for Q4 was strong at a comfortable level of 25.5%”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
ROA: 3.6% (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“The ROA for Q4 was 3.6%, 29 bps higher Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
ROE: 15.6% (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“The ROE for Q4 was 15.6%, 8 bps higher Y-o-Y”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Interim dividend: Rs 2.50 per equity share (FY26)
p. 4
“This financial year, we also declared an interim dividend of INR2.50 per equity share, enhancing shareholder value”
Salila Pande, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
ECL overlay: Rs 220 crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“we are retaining an overlay of INR220 crores for ECL provision”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
New account acquisition — 9 lakh to 1 million per quarter · next quarter
stated firmly by Salila Pande
p. 6
“We have mentioned during our previous earnings call that we will target acquisition of 9 lakh to 1 million for the quarter, and we have ended this quarter with around 9.17 lakhs.”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cost-to-income ratio — 55% to 58% · FY27
stated firmly by Rashmi Mohanty
p. 7
“So, we expect the cost to income to be in the range of 55% to 58% for the next year as well.”
Rashmi Mohanty, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revolve rate — FY27
stated firmly by Salila Pande
p. 5
“Revolve rates have been in the range of 22% to 24% over the last 2 years, and we expect this to have a slight downward bias in FY '27.”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net interest margin
stated conditionally by Salila Pande
p. 5
“We expect NIM to remain stable, though at risk from any significant increase in cost of fund as a result of uncertain macroeconomic conditions.”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Credit cost — FY27
stated conditionally by Salila Pande
p. 6
“We expect the credit cost to moderate further in FY '27.”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
ROA — 4% to 4.5% · medium term
stated as an aspiration by Salila Pande
p. 17
“we are aiming towards 4% to 4.5% of ROA in the medium term”
Salila Pande, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cost of funds — next two quarters
stated conditionally by Rashmi Mohanty
p. 10
“Should stay stable in that case.”
Rashmi Mohanty, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Sourcing mix (Banca vs open market) — 50% to 55% banca and 45% to 50% open market
stated as an aspiration by Girish Budhiraja
p. 14
“our strategy is to remain 50% to 55% banca and 45% to 50% open market”
Girish Budhiraja, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Management said acquisition was on track against its stated target range and would remain calibrated.
Answered by Salila Pande
Asked by Ajmera: Why has new account addition been lower than the previous year?
p. 6
“We have mentioned during our previous earnings call that we will target acquisition of 9 lakh to 1 million for the quarter, and we have ended this quarter with around 9.17 lakhs.”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
CFO attributed the rise mainly to higher corporate spends this year versus last year.
Answered by Rashmi Mohanty
Asked by Ajmera: Why has cost-to-income ratio risen from around 51-52% historically to 57.2%?
p. 7
“So, the change has largely been on account of the corporate spends, because the corporate spends this year have been way higher than what they were last year.”
Rashmi Mohanty, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said applications were not slowing but underwriting tightening across issuers had reduced new-to-credit onboarding.
Answered by Salila Pande
Asked by Piran Engineer: Why has cards-in-force growth slowed to mid-single digits across the industry?
p. 7
“Overall, I think the issuers have seen in the last couple of years, some asset quality issues. So there's more tightening, which has happened on the underwriting side.”
Salila Pande, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the first lever would be building the installment lending portfolio rather than cutting rewards.
Answered by Girish Budhiraja
Asked by Piran Engineer: How will the company protect profitability if revolver rates fall further, e.g. to 20% or below?
p. 8
“Our first attempt that we will do is to compensate it through the installment lending portfolios rather than cutting a rewards program or doing something else.”
Girish Budhiraja, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
CFO confirmed repricing occurs in a 60-90 day bucket but said the effect on cost of funds is uncertain.
Answered by Rashmi Mohanty
Asked by Zhixuan Gao: Is there room for cost of funds to decline further given repricing of borrowings?
p. 9
“As we've stated earlier a that our borrowings do reprice anywhere in a 60- to a 90-day bucket. So yes, there will be some repricing that will happen over the next quarter or so, yes.”
Rashmi Mohanty, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said it was not giving asset growth guidance and that growth would follow card acquisition.
Answered by Salila Pande
Asked by Mahrukh Adajania: How does management view near-term receivables/asset growth given macro uncertainty?
p. 12
“So Mahrukh, right now, we are not giving any guidance on asset growth. And if you recall in the last earnings call, we had said that the asset growth will follow card acquisition growth.”
Salila Pande, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management confirmed the additional overlay was a P&L charge, not an ECL model release.
Answered by Krishna Kant Bishnoi
Asked by Rohan M.: Was the Rs 100 crore increase in management overlay run through the P&L?
p. 13
“Every provision is from the P&L.”
Krishna Kant Bishnoi, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
CEO said shareholders needed to be rewarded and the company was underleveraged with no capital adequacy issues.
Answered by Salila Pande
Asked by Shubhranshu Mishra: Given profit grew only ~13%, why pay a dividend rather than retain capital?
p. 14
“We are underleveraged actually, if you look at that. So I would say that INR2.50 per share is a pretty decent dividend or a return, which is due to the stakeholders.”
Salila Pande, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said credit cost would continue trending downward and reiterated a medium-term ROA aspiration of 4-4.5%.
Answered by Salila Pande
Asked by Atul Kumar: What moderation in credit cost and ROA can be expected going forward?
p. 17
“we are aiming towards 4% to 4.5% of ROA in the medium term. And that is achievable and we are working towards it.”
Salila Pande, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Uncertain macroeconomic conditions and possible rise in cost of funds could affect NIM stability
p. 5
“We expect NIM to remain stable, though at risk from any significant increase in cost of fund as a result of uncertain macroeconomic conditions.”
Salila Pande, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Pace of credit cost and asset quality improvement depends on geopolitical developments and their macroeconomic impact
p. 6
“the rate of moderation in credit cost and asset quality will depend on the evolving geopolitical landscape and its impact on the macroeconomic factors and the unsecured lending ecosystem”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Geopolitical turmoil and uncertainty prompted retention of an ECL management overlay
p. 6
“Keeping in view the Annual ECL model refresh, and uncertainty due to geopolitical turmoil, we are retaining an overlay of INR220 crores for ECL provision.”
Salila Pande, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Uncertainty over RBI's stance amid geopolitical tensions makes cost-of-funds guidance difficult
p. 9
“it will be a too early for me to give you any guidance on the cost of funds given that we are still not sure about RBI’s stance given the geopolitical tensions and the uncertainties in the environment”
Rashmi Mohanty, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Declining revolver mix pressures interest income and margins
p. 10
“revolvers are at a much higher rate and 1% decline in revolver has to be compensated, obviously, with a larger mix on the installment lending side”
Girish Budhiraja, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Generated by claude-sonnet-5. Source: the transcript as filed with BSE. We link to the exchange's copy; we do not host transcripts. Parakho is a data and screening tool, not an investment adviser — nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.