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Informist, Friday, Jul. 18, 2025

--Bandhan Bank: See challenges staying in emerging entrepreneurs segment 

--CONTEXT: Bandhan Bank mgmt's comments at post-earnings analyst concall 

--Bandhan Bank: Expect disbursals to pick up from Oct-Dec onwards 

--Bandhan Bank: Have leeway to start growing emerging entrepreneurs book 

By Shubham Rana and Pratiksha

NEW DELHI – Bandhan Bank expects disbursements to pick up from the December quarter, the lender's management said Friday, after loan growth slowed down substantially during the first quarter of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar). 

Bandhan Bank's gross advances rose 6.4% on year but fell 2.5% on quarter to INR 1.34 trillion as of Jun. 30. At the end of March, the lender's loan growth was nearly 10%. "Quarter 3 (Oct-Dec) onwards disbursals will step up," Bandhan Bank's management said in a post-earnings call with analysts. "It may not step up to the way it was at 30-40% compounded annual growth. It will be in the region of 10-15% growth from quarter 3 onwards." 

The Kolkata-based lender Friday reported the worst on-year fall in its net profit for the quarter ended June in five quarters as provisions jumped. Bandhan Bank's net profit fell 65% on year to INR 3.72 billion.

The bank's management expects the momentum in disbursements to shift towards the end of Jul-Sept, when the monsoon season ends and the festive season begins.

The bank sees has headroom to start growing its emerging entrepreneurs business segment going ahead, with over half of the loan book already made up of the secured product mix. "We have seen a decline in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis (in the emerging entrepreneurs business segment). We expect that to start reversing out marginally the next quarter and then a bit more significantly henceforth," the management said. 

"While we are clearly focusing on improving our secured share and the secured mix over the next couple of years, we've already made good headway. We already got 52% of our book, they're secured already," the management added. 

The bank has been trimming the share of its emerging entrepreneurs business segment in the total loan book for a few quarters. The share of the entrepreneurs segment, which focusses on microloans, moderated to 25.2% of the total loan book as of June end from 26.3% a quarter ago. Small business and agricultural loans accounted for 14.3% of the total loan book, down from 14.9% as of Mar. 31.

Bandhan Bank's management said it anticipates challenges in the emerging entrepreneurs business segment to persist till Jul-Sept, "albeit on an improving trajectory".  Shares of the bank closed nearly 1% higher at INR 187.02 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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