More Stories

Informist, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--PNB: Want to up retail, farm, MSME share in loan book to 60% from 57% 
--CONTEXT: Comments by PNB management at post-earnings analyst concall 
--PNB: Want to lower corporate loan book share to 40% 
--PNB: Expect NIM to improve 15 bps over Q3, Q4 
--PNB: Expect return on assets to rise to 1.10% in FY26 
--PNB: Raised INR 9 bln from stake sale in Canara HSBC Life Insurance IPO 
--PNB: Expect treasury income of around INR 15 bln in Q3 

 

By Shubham Rana and Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – Punjab National Bank Ltd. aims to increase the share of the 'retail, agriculture, and micro, small, and medium enterprises' segment in the total loan book to 60% going ahead, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashok Chandra said Saturday. At the same time, the bank wants to lower the share of corporate loans in the total book to 40%, Chandra said.

 

The 'retail, agriculture, and micro, small, and medium enterprises' segment accounted for 56.8% of the bank's total loan book as of Sept. 30, higher than 55.8% a year ago. Corporate loan book makes up for rest of the 43.2% of the total advances. Loans to the 'retail, agriculture, and micro, small, and medium enterprises' segment grew 12.7% on year to INR 6.35 trillion as of Sept. 30 and corporate loans rose 7.9% on year to INR 4.82 trillion.

 

"We are putting a lot of focus on the RAM (retail, agriculture, and micro, small, and medium enterprises) book," Chandra said in a conference call with analysts after the release of September quarter financial results. The public sector bank Saturday reported a net profit of INR 49.04 billion for the September quarter, up 14% on year.

 

The bank expects its net interest margin to rise 5 basis points in the December quarter and another 10 bps in the March quarter, assuming the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee doesn't lower interest rates further. The bank's domestic net interest margin fell to 2.72% in the September quarter from 2.84% a quarter ago and 3.06% a year ago.

 

The bank also expects the return on assets to rise to 1.10% in the current financial year from 1.05% in Jul-Sept. "Going forward, when entire deposits will be repriced, and I am expecting that NIM and the NII (net interest income) will also improve, so profitability is also likely to improve," Chandra said. "So I am expecting that somewhere in this financial year, we will be touching (return on assets) around 1.10% and going forward, definitely there has to be some improvement over that figure. Definitely it will be more than 1.10%." 

 

Chandra said the bank had raised INR 9 billion through its 10% stake sale in Canara HSBC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. in the life insurer's initial public offering earlier this month. Punjab National Bank has now reduced its stake in the life insurer to 13% from 23?fore the public offering.

 

Asked about the bank's outlook on treasury income, Chandra said he sees it around INR 15 billion in the December quarter. "Q1 and Q2, both the quarters we have maintained a good stream, now 1800 crore (INR 18 billion) was the Treasury profit in Q1. And in this particular quarter, also, the treasury income also together is around 1800 (INR 18 billion)," Chandra said. "Q3 also, I think let us wait and see how the bond movement happens. But somewhere definitely around 1500 crore (INR 15 billion), that is the minimum treasury gain we will be holding it."

 

Chandra sees "good scope for all the leading public sector banks" to fund mergers and acquisitions after the RBI earlier this month allowed banks to finance acquisitions by Indian corporate. Chandra said some "big banks" will sit together and chalk out a strategy for financing acquisitions. "We need to have a proper policy in place, because this was earlier not permitted by RBI. So definitely, we will find out and we will go for proper policy. And in that space, definitely PNB will play some bigger role," Chandra said.

 

Shares of the bank Friday closed at INR 113.70 on the National Stock Exchange, down over 2% from the previous close.  End

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.