South Indian Bank has reported steady business momentum for the December quarter, showcasing strong performance across key operational metrics with double-digit growth in both advances and deposits. The Kerala-based lender announced its provisional business updates for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, reflecting robust business momentum during the third quarter of FY26.

Key Financial Performance

The bank's provisional financial data reveals impressive year-on-year growth across all major parameters, demonstrating the bank's ability to expand its lending portfolio while maintaining strong deposit mobilization capabilities.

Advances Portfolio Growth

Gross advances reached ₹96,765.00 crores as of December 31, 2025, representing an 11.27% increase from ₹86,966.00 crores recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The bank noted that, adjusted for a technical write-off of ₹900.00 crores carried out in the March 2025 quarter, year-on-year loan growth would have been 12.43%. This growth indicates the bank's successful lending operations and its ability to meet customer credit requirements across various segments.

Deposit Mobilization and CASA Performance

Total deposits grew substantially to ₹1,18,211.00 crores, marking a 12.17% year-on-year increase from ₹1,05,387.00 crores in Q3FY25, reflecting sustained traction in core liabilities. The deposit growth outpaced advances growth, indicating strong customer confidence and the bank's effective deposit mobilization strategies.

CASA deposits showed particularly strong performance, growing at a faster pace with a 14.65% increase to ₹37,640.00 crores compared to ₹32,830.00 crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. More significantly, the CASA ratio improved to 31.84%, representing a 69 basis points increase from 31.15% recorded in Q3FY25, indicating a gradual improvement in the bank's funding mix and providing stability to funding costs.

Market Performance and Regulatory Compliance

Shares of the bank ended 0.86% down at ₹37.99 ahead of the announcement. The bank has disclosed these business updates in compliance with SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and the Code of Practices and Procedures for Fair Disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information. The lender clarified that the provisional data is subject to limited review by the bank's statutory auditors, ensuring accuracy and reliability of the reported figures.

Market analysts and brokerage firms have identified high-conviction trading ideas for the upcoming session, focusing heavily on the banking and metal sectors. While the consensus points to buying opportunities in state-owned lenders and steel majors, analysts have also flagged a selling opportunity in the credit card segment.

Banking Sector Recommendations

Indian Bank

Indian Bank emerged as a consensus top pick with two analysts recommending a buy. The stock attracted positive attention from multiple research houses with varying target prices and risk management levels.

Raja Venkatraman, Co-Founder of NeoTrader, advised buying the stock at ₹809.00 with a target of ₹825.00 and a stop loss of ₹798.00. Ruchit Jain, Vice President of Equity Technical Research at Motilal Oswal, was even more bullish, recommending a buy with a higher target of ₹840.00 and a stop loss placed at ₹787.00.

Bank of Baroda

Rajesh Palviya, SVP - Technical and Derivatives Research at Axis Securities, placed a buy rating on another public sector lender, Bank of Baroda. He recommended entering at ₹293.00 for a target of ₹300.00, with a stop loss maintained at ₹288.00.

Metal Sector Opportunities

SAIL

Palviya also identified value in the metal space, suggesting a buy on SAIL. He set a target price of ₹148.00, advising a stop loss at ₹137.00 for an entry price of ₹141.00.

JSW Steel

Continuing the bullish sentiment on metals, Vinay Rajani, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at HDFC Securities, recommended buying JSW Steel at ₹1,111.00. He set a target of ₹1,140.00, with a stop loss placed at ₹1,090.00.

Credit Card Sector Caution

SBI Cards

Bucking the trend of buy calls, Raja Venkatraman suggested a short position on SBI Cards. He recommended selling the stock at ₹846.00 for a target of ₹830.00, placing a stop loss at ₹855.00.

Trading Summary

The analyst recommendations span across key sectors with a clear preference for banking and metal stocks. The recommendations provide specific entry points, target prices, and risk management levels through stop-loss orders, offering traders structured approaches for the upcoming session.