SBI vs Bank of Baroda (2026): NIM, NPAs, ROA, Growth & Which Bank Is Better?

SBI vs Bank of Baroda: Q1 FY2027 banking scoreboard

SBI's scale is difficult to appreciate until the balance sheets are placed side by side

SBI's Q1 FY2027 gross advances exceeded ₹50 lakh crore.

Bank of Baroda's global advances were approximately ₹14.17 lakh crore.

SBI's deposits crossed ₹60 lakh crore.

Bank of Baroda's global deposits were approximately ₹16.34 lakh crore.

SBI is therefore not merely somewhat larger.

Its balance sheet is roughly three-and-a-half to four times Bank of Baroda's on major lending and deposit measures.

Scale improves funding access, distribution, corporate relationships and cross-selling, but can make rapid percentage growth harder.

SBI still managed 18.6% advance growth from that enormous base.

SBI's Q1 credit growth was unusually strong for a bank this large

Whole-bank advances increased 18.63% year on year.

SME advances increased more than 22%.

Agriculture advances increased more than 25%.

Retail personal advances increased around 15%.

Corporate advances also grew strongly.

This breadth matters because a bank growing only one lending category can create hidden concentration risk.

SBI's growth is spread across retail, agriculture, SME, corporate and international books.

Bank of Baroda is almost matching SBI's loan growth

Bank of Baroda's global advances increased 17.4% year on year to approximately ₹14.17 lakh crore.

Domestic advances increased 16.1%.

Organic retail advances grew approximately 18.4%.

MSME grew around 20.3%.

Agriculture increased roughly 18.7%.

Corporate advances increased approximately 15.3%.

International advances grew more than 23%.

This is a healthy and well-diversified loan-growth profile.

The deposit picture actually favours Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda's global deposits increased 13.8% year on year compared with SBI at 9.73%.

Domestic Bank of Baroda deposits increased approximately 14.7%.

SBI still has the vastly larger deposit franchise, but the growth gap matters because banks cannot indefinitely grow loans much faster than deposits.

SBI's credit growth exceeded deposit growth by almost nine percentage points.

Bank of Baroda's gap was narrower.

If system deposit competition remains intense, deposit mobilisation becomes one of the most important variables for SBI's future loan growth and NIM.

SBI has the better CASA mix

SBI's CASA ratio was approximately 39.24% at June 2026.

Bank of Baroda's domestic CASA ratio was approximately 37.72%.

CASA deposits are strategically valuable because current and savings accounts generally cost less than term deposits.

A higher CASA ratio can support NIM when wholesale deposit pricing becomes competitive.

Bank of Baroda's CASA balance still grew 10% year on year, but its CASA ratio declined because term deposits expanded faster.

NIM is very close, but SBI currently has the edge

SBI's whole-bank NIM was approximately 2.86% and domestic NIM 3.00%.

Bank of Baroda's global NIM was approximately 2.77% and domestic NIM 2.93%.

The difference is modest.

For both banks, funding costs are critical because loan yields typically reprice faster than deposits when policy rates change.

Bank of Baroda's cost of deposits fell to approximately 4.66% in Q1, helping offset pressure on asset yields.

SBI also benefited from lower funding costs sequentially.

Asset quality is where SBI has the clearest operational advantage

SBI's GNPA ratio fell to approximately 1.47%, its lowest level in more than two decades.

Net NPA was only about 0.38%.

Bank of Baroda also has strong asset quality compared with its own history, with GNPA at 1.99% and NNPA at 0.50%.

Both are dramatically cleaner than the public-sector-bank balance sheets investors remember from the previous NPA cycle.

SBI nevertheless retains the advantage on current headline ratios.

Credit cost is almost tied

SBI's Q1 credit cost was approximately 0.27%.

Bank of Baroda's was approximately 0.29%.

That is a tiny difference.

For Bank of Baroda, the extraordinary Q1 provision number was not caused by normal fresh bad loans. It was driven by the exceptional NMC Health settlement charge.

Normal NPA-related provisions actually declined substantially year on year.

This is another reason the reported ₹1,278 crore PAT figure should not be treated as evidence of deteriorating credit quality.

SBI's profit quality was much cleaner in Q1

SBI reported standalone PAT of approximately ₹21,121 crore, up 10.2% year on year.

NII increased approximately 14.9% to ₹46,992 crore.

Operating profit increased about 9.8% to ₹33,529 crore.

Other income declined, so profit growth was not dependent on a large treasury windfall.

ROA was approximately 1.11% and ROE 17.87%.

For a bank with more than ₹60 lakh crore of deposits, those return ratios are strong.

ROA is the most useful profitability comparison for banks

A 0.1-percentage-point difference in ROA can translate into thousands of crores of annual profit on a bank balance sheet.

SBI's Q1 ROA was 1.11%.

Bank of Baroda's adjusted ROA was approximately 1.10%.

On an underlying basis, the two banks are nearly tied.

The difference is that SBI achieved that return with lower NPA ratios and a much larger asset base.

Bank of Baroda's challenge is proving that adjusted profitability survives beyond the quarter and is not dependent on unusually favourable recovery or treasury income.

ROE also becomes competitive after removing Bank of Baroda's one-off

SBI reported ROE of approximately 17.87%.

Bank of Baroda's reported ROE was only 3.89%, but adjusted ROE was approximately 16.57%.

A mid-to-high-teens sustainable ROE can justify trading above book value.

This is why Bank of Baroda's current price near book is noteworthy.

The market is not valuing the underlying adjusted return profile at the same premium assigned to many private banks or even SBI.

Capital adequacy favours Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda reported CRAR of approximately 16.30% and CET1 of 13.90%.

SBI reported capital adequacy of approximately 15.67% and CET1 of 12.89%.

Both have comfortable buffers over minimum regulatory requirements.

Bank of Baroda has the larger percentage cushion today.

SBI has also been active in capital markets and has access to AT1 and other funding instruments, reducing the practical importance of a modest one-percentage-point difference.

Valuation needs bank-specific treatment

For banks, price-to-book is often more informative than enterprise-style free-cash-flow ratios.

Bank of Baroda reported Q1 FY2027 book value per share of approximately ₹256.2.

Against Bull Run's August 25 price of ₹241, that implies a P/B close to 0.94x.

SBI's recent market data places book value per share around ₹672, implying a P/B around 1.56x at ₹1,048.

SBI therefore trades at a substantially higher book-value multiple.

The premium reflects superior asset quality, larger subsidiaries, franchise scale and a longer period of sustained high returns.

Why Bank of Baroda below book can be interesting but not automatically cheap

A bank deserves to trade above book only if investors believe it can earn more than its cost of equity consistently.

Bank of Baroda's adjusted ROE above 16% suggests that sub-1x book valuation may look inexpensive.

But shareholders must judge whether that ROE survives normalised credit costs, deposit competition and future exceptional items.

One quarter of adjusted earnings is not enough to establish a permanent rerating.

SBI's valuation includes businesses Bank of Baroda cannot match at the same scale

SBI is not merely a standalone commercial bank.

The group has major positions in life insurance, general insurance, asset management, cards, securities and other financial services.

Those subsidiaries create additional shareholder value outside the standalone bank's lending book.

They also make market-cap comparisons with Bank of Baroda less straightforward.

An investor paying a higher SBI P/B is partly paying for that broader ecosystem.

Digital distribution is another SBI advantage

YONO has become one of India's largest bank-owned digital platforms.

SBI conducts almost all transactions through alternate channels.

Digital account opening and cross-selling allow a very large branch network to become more productive rather than simply more expensive.

Bank of Baroda has also invested heavily in bob World and digital lending.

SBI's absolute digital customer base nevertheless gives it a scale advantage in product distribution.

Bank of Baroda has a deeper international identity

International advances increased more than 23% year on year to approximately ₹2.66 lakh crore.

Bank of Baroda operates in multiple overseas markets and has a long-standing international franchise.

International diversification can provide growth beyond domestic banking.

It also adds foreign-exchange, geopolitical and jurisdiction-specific credit risk.

The NMC Health settlement itself is a reminder that international exposures can produce risks that do not appear in a simple domestic NPA ratio.

The dividend comparison favours Bank of Baroda

Bull Run's current dividend yield is approximately 3.43% for Bank of Baroda and 1.68% for SBI.

That makes Bank of Baroda more attractive for current income at today's prices.

Dividend yield should not be viewed independently of capital requirements.

Banks must retain enough equity to support balance-sheet growth and regulatory buffers.

Both currently have sufficient capital to continue lending while distributing a portion of earnings.

The stock market has strongly preferred SBI over the last year

SBI remains above its 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages.

Bank of Baroda trades below all of those major moving averages in Bull Run's current snapshot.

The market is therefore rewarding SBI's operating consistency while applying a heavier discount to Bank of Baroda despite the latter's underlying adjusted profitability.

The strongest case for SBI

The strongest case for Bank of Baroda

SBI vs Bank of Baroda FAQs

Which bank is bigger?

SBI by a wide margin, with more than ₹50 lakh crore of advances and ₹60 lakh crore of deposits.

Which has lower NPAs?

SBI, with GNPA of approximately 1.47% and NNPA of 0.38% versus Bank of Baroda at 1.99% and 0.50%.

Which has a higher NIM?

SBI slightly, with domestic NIM of 3.00% versus Bank of Baroda at 2.93%.

Why did Bank of Baroda's profit fall?

A one-off ₹5,680 crore exceptional provision related to the NMC Health settlement reduced reported profit sharply.

Which has higher capital adequacy?

Bank of Baroda, at approximately 16.30% versus SBI at 15.67%.

Which has higher ROE?

SBI reported around 17.87%. Bank of Baroda's reported ROE was distorted by the exceptional item; adjusted ROE was approximately 16.57%.

Which has the higher dividend yield?

Bank of Baroda, at approximately 3.43% compared with SBI at around 1.68%.

Which is cheaper on book value?

Bank of Baroda currently trades near 0.94x reported Q1 book value, materially below SBI's recent market P/B of roughly 1.56x.

Research sources

• Bull Run current market, ownership and technical data
• SBI Q1 FY2027 quarterly results
• SBI analyst presentations
• SBI Q1 FY2027 earnings call materials
• Bank of Baroda official Q1 FY2027 financial results
• Bank of Baroda financial reports and analyst presentations