A Comparative Analysis of Financial Performance, Profitability, and Customer Satisfaction in Public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks: With reference to SBI and HDFC Bank

The banking industry is essential to the economic progress of a country, because it facilitates investments, mobilizes funds, and offers financial services to a wide range of stakeholders. Private sector banks (PVBs) and public sector banks (PSBs) in India have quite different growth plans, service offerings, and operational methods. The profitability, financial performance, and customer satisfaction of HDFC Bank and the State Bank of India (SBI) are compared in this study for the fiscal years 2016–2025. Using both, primary data from structured SERVQUAL-based questionnaire (through Google Form) filled by 537 customers in Lucknow district of both SBI and HDFC Bank and secondary data from annual reports, RBI publications, and financial databases, a descriptive and comparative research design was used. Financial Performance and Profitability measurements were examined with important financial statistics, such as Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA), Net Interest Margin (NIM), Cost-to-Income Ratio, and Non-Performing Asset (NPA) ratios. The results show that HDFC Bank exhibits better growth rates, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction, while SBI continues to dominate in terms of absolute asset size, deposits, and branch network. A comprehensive knowledge of how ownership structure, strategic focus, and customer-centric practices affect performance outcomes is possible through the integration of financial and service quality characteristics. By bridging the gap between financial and non-financial performance evaluation in Indian banking, the study adds to the body of existing work.