State Bank of India (SBI) reported a loss of Rs. 7,718 crore ($1.1 billion) - its biggest ever - in the January-March quarter, as the country's biggest lender set aside more provisions for bad loans after a change in banking regulation.. The loss for the three months to March 31 was deeper than what the market had expected. Analysts on average had expected SBI to report a loss of Rs. 1,285 crore, according to Thomson Reuters data. In the December quarter, SBI had posted a loss of Rs. 2,416 crore. SBI share prices rallied after the results were announced. Shares rallied to close nearly 4 per cent higher after the bank said that it expects a key bad loan metric to fall sharply in two years.
