The State Bank of India Chairman, Mr Pratip Chaudhuri, has indicated that the bank’s profitability during the first and second quarters of the current fiscal could be slightly subdued on account of provisioning towards building the ‘countercyclical buffer' stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

“Our profits could be slightly subdued during the first and second quarters, however, we should start seeing some good profits starting in the third quarter of this fiscal,” Mr Chaudhuri told newspersons on the sidelines of a banking summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday.

The SBI Chairman had earlier in May this year said that the bank would have to keep aside Rs 1,100 crore over the first two quarters of fiscal 2011-12 towards ‘countercyclical’ provisions as per the Reserve Bank of India directive.

The net interest margin is however likely to be better on account of the higher interest rate regime, he pointed out.

“The NIM is looking good due to the high interest rate. So despite other pressures such as provisioning, the higher NIMs could offset the loss in profitability to some extent,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, according to agency reports, the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, is scheduled to meet the State Bank of India board in Mumbai on August 6.

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