State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, said the country's largest lender is actively exploring artificial intelligence (AI) to combat escalating cyber threats targeting India's banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. Setty's remarks come as financial institutions globally face a surge in AI-assisted cyberattacks that outpace traditional defences.

What the SBI Chairman Said

Setty underscored that cybersecurity is not merely a compliance checkbox for SBI but a core operational priority. 'Cybersecurity always has been of paramount importance for us. We are very conscious of our role to play in not only ensuring that SBI systems are protected, customer data is protected, we are also working with other ecosystem players through the IBA to ensure that the BFSI sector comes together in ensuring that the cyber threats are handled in a better manner. We are also working on how AI can be adopted to fight the AI threats,' he said.

The remarks highlight an arms-race dynamic now defining financial cybersecurity: as threat actors deploy AI to automate attacks, scale phishing campaigns and probe vulnerabilities, institutions must respond with equally sophisticated AI-driven detection and response tools.

Coordinated Sector-Wide Response via IBA

Setty noted that SBI is working alongside other financial institutions through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to build a coordinated, sector-wide defence framework. This approach acknowledges that cyber threats rarely stop at a single institution's perimeter — a breach at any node in the financial ecosystem can have cascading consequences.

India's BFSI sector has seen a marked rise in targeted attacks in recent years, including ransomware incidents, credential-stuffing campaigns, and deepfake-enabled fraud. Regulatory pressure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also intensified, with guidelines on cyber resilience and third-party risk management tightened progressively since 2023.

SBI Q2 FY27 Profit Jumps 14.3%

Separately, SBI on Tuesday reported a 14.3% year-on-year rise in net profit to ₹23,038 crore for the September quarter of FY27 (Q2 FY27), up from ₹20,160 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, according to its stock exchange filing. The earnings were underpinned by robust growth in net interest income and a decline in provisions during the quarter.

The strong financial performance provides SBI with greater headroom to invest in technology infrastructure, including the AI-driven cybersecurity systems Setty referenced.

Why This Matters for Indian Banking

SBI serves over 50 crore customers and operates one of the largest digital banking footprints in the world. A successful cyberattack on its systems would carry systemic risk far beyond the bank itself. Notably, India ranked among the most targeted nations for financial cyberattacks in recent global threat intelligence reports, making the bank's pivot to AI-led defences strategically significant.

The bank's dual focus — coordinating through IBA and building in-house AI capabilities — signals a maturing institutional posture on cybersecurity, one that other public sector lenders may be expected to replicate. How quickly SBI operationalises these AI tools, and whether the IBA framework produces enforceable standards, will determine the sector's collective resilience going forward.