MUMBAI: The third largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has posted a record 159 percent on-year spike in net income at Rs 3,252 crore for the June quarter, boosted by all-round performance including healthy asset quality and higher loan sales. This was its highest net income since the amalgamation of Oriental Bank and United Bank of India in April 2020. In the year ago period, the bank had booked just Rs 1,255 crore in net profit, weighed down by poor assets quality.
On the back of health demand for credit, the New Delhi-based bank said Saturday that its net interest income came in at Rs 9,504.3 crore, a growth of 10.2 percent as the net interest margin improved more than targeted at 2.21 percent from 3.01 percent and is already above its guidance of 2.9-3 percent, the management said. Of the blended NIM, global NIM stood at 3.07 percent.
Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) improved by 275 bps to 4.98 percent from 7.73 per cent in June 2023 and 5.73 percent in the March quarter, while net NPAs improved by 138 bps to 0.60 percent, Atul Kumar Goel, the managing director and chief executive of the bank told reporters in a post-results press conference. He also said he expects GNPA to fall to 4 percent by the end of the current fiscal year.
Goel attributed the better set of numbers to the overall good show led by higher recoveries, overall business growth, margin expansion, lower cost of deposits and lower credit cost.
Despite closing the quarter with healthy deposits accretion, Goel said the low-cost current account savings accounts (Casa) collection is a challenge for all banks. He said they are planning to raise Rs 5,000 crore through qualified institutional placement in this second quarter to fund the rising credit growth.
He also said the board has approved fundraise of another Rs 12,500 crore through other instruments, including AT1 bonds this year.
Goel further said the bank is planning to provide a mobile app to corporates by September to improve current accounts.
The Casa deposits increased to Rs 5,49,079 crore, recording a growth of 3.4 percent.
Bank’s total retail credit increased 14.4 percent to Rs 2,34,564 crore of which core retail advances, recorded growth of 15.5 percent, housing loan grew 14.7 percent to Rs 1,01,796 crore and vehicle loans grew 26.9 percent to Rs 21,726 crore.
The bank contained fresh slippages at Rs 1,755 crore or 0.6 percent of the total assets and is the lowest in the past three years, Goel said, adding this came in from Rs 399 crore from agri, Rs 637 crore from MSMEs and Rs 490 crore from retail and the rest from corporate.
The bank saw an additional outgo of Rs 834 crore towards new wage settlement during the quarter.
Improved asset quality saw the bank’s provision coverage ratio improving by 607 bps to 95.90 from 89.83. The slippage ratio improved by 43 bps to 0.76 from 1.19 and credit cost improved by 167 bps to 0.32 from 1.99.