Mumbai, May 22 (IANS): Reflecting the continued pressure on state-run banks, State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday posted a loss of Rs 7,718 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, the bank said in a stock exchange filing.

The country's largest lender had recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs Rs 2,815 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.

SBI's fourth quarter loss more than trebled over that of the previous quarter when the bank had incurred a loss of Rs 2,416 crore.

The bank's accumulated problem of gross non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, during the quarter in consideration at Rs 2,23,427 crore, worsened at 10.91 per cent, as compared to the 10.35 per cent in the previous quarter, and a gross NPA level of 6.9 per cent registered in the same quarter a year ago.

The net NPA ratio during the January-March quarter stood at 5.73 per cent, which is a marginal rise over 5.61 per cent on this count in the previous quarter. Net NPAs in the same quarter last year were at 3.71 per cent.

With results coming in during market hours, the SBI stock was trading at Rs 253.75 a share, up Rs 8.65, or by 3.53 per cent, over its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.