Punjab National Bank on Friday reported a 102.8 per cent rise in net profit during the quarter ended December 31 on the back of lower provisions. Net profit during the quarter was ₹4,508 crore compared with ₹2,223 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

Net interest income during the quarter was up 7.2 per cent from ₹10,293 crore in Q3FY24 to ₹11,032 crore in Q3FY24. Provisions made by the bank on non-performing assets during the quarter were ₹318 crore compared with ₹2,994 crore in the same period of the previous year.

The gross NPA ratio of the bank was 4.09 per cent as of December 2024 compared with 6.24 per cent as of December 2023. Net NPA ratio of the bank as of December 2024 was 0.41 per cent compared with 0.96 per cent in December 2023.

MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said the bank expects the bottomline to be sustainable on account of lower provision requirements on the non-performing assets. “The provision coverage ratio of the bank is already at 97 per cent and the credit cost of the bank is 0.12 per cent,” Chandra said.

The bank has increased the MCLR rates by 0.5 per cent effective from February 1, 2025. One year MCLE increased from 9 per cent to 9.05 per cent.

PNB scrips at ₹101.15 were up 4.76 per cent over the previous close on the BSE.

Bandhan net

Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a net profit of ₹426 crore for Q3FY25 compared with ₹733 crore in Q3FY24, down 41.8 per cent as higher provisions ate into the bank’s bottomline. Net interest income was ₹2,830 crore, a growth of 12 per cent from ₹2,525 crore in Q3FY24.

Provisions (other than tax) and contingencies charged to the profit and loss during the quarter was ₹1,316 crore compared with ₹684 crore in Q3FY24. The bank’s gross NPA ratio during December 2024 was 4.7 per cent compared with 7 per cent in the year-ago period. Net NPA was 1.3 per cent compared 2.2 per cent in the year ago period.

“We have now decided to spread the provisions over the quarters instead of keeping it all for the March quarter. We have started the exercise,” said Partha Pratim Sengupta, MD and CEO, Bandhan Bank.

He added that the microfinance segment has been facing challenges and it could take one more quarter to see improvement in the segment. The bank’s collection efficiency in the emerging entrepreneurs business (microfinance) segment has decreased to 97.4 per cent during Q3FY25 compared to 98.1 per cent during Q2FY25.