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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026

By Nandini Sinha

MUMBAI – Punjab National Bank is expected to post a moderate on-year growth in its net profit for the December quarter on the back of one-time gain from a stake sale in Canara HSBC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and reversal in provisions, according to brokerages.

The public sector bank is expected to post a net profit of INR 49.54 billion for the December quarter, up nearly 10% on year and over 1% sequentially, according to the average of estimates from nine brokerages. Kotak Securities Ltd. has the highest estimate for the bank's net profit at INR 52.92 billion, while JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. has the lowest estimate at INR 45.35 billion. The public sector bank had posted a net profit of INR 49.03 billion in the trailing quarter.

"We expect better recovery from written off accounts, thereby lending support to earnings," Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd. said in its earnings preview report. Benign credit costs are also expected to boost the net profit, according to Mirae Asset Sharekhan Ltd. The public sector bank will release its December quarter earnings on Monday.

Punjab National Bank's net interest income is expected to fall marginally on year but rise nearly 5% on quarter to INR 109.66 billion, according to estimates by nine brokerages. The bank's net interest income in the trailing quarter was INR 104.68 billion. The highest estimate for the bank's net interest income is INR 120.03 billion by Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. Ltd., while the lowest estimate is INR 106.3 billion by Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd.

Brokerages have mixed views about the bank's net interest margin. Nuvama expects its global NIM to fall 37 basis points on year and 4 bps sequentially, whereas Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. expects the NIM to be flat on year. Its NIM in the September quarter was 2.6% and the same in the December quarter last year was 2.93%.

Punjab National Bank is expected to report a one-time gain of around INR 9 billion from the sale of a 10% stake in Canara HSBC Life Insurance, according to Kotak Securities. It also expects a one-off reversal of provisions created in the September quarter after it made a big recovery of around INR 12 billion.

In October, Punjab National Bank sold 10% stake in Canara HSBC Life Insurance through an offer for sale in the company's initial public offer. Punjab National Bank, India's second-largest public sector bank, now holds 13% stake in Canara HSBC Life Insurance.

PNB's global advances have risen nearly 11% on year to INR 12.30 trillion as on Dec. 31. Global deposits have risen to INR 16.6 trillion as on Dec. 31, up nearly 9% on year.

The public sector bank's shares have risen nearly 9% since its September quarter earnings were reported on Oct. 18. PNB's shares closed at INR 128.68 per share on the National Stock Exchange Wednesday, up more than 3% from Tuesday.

Of the four brokerage reports on the bank available with Informist, three have 'buy' recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 126 per share. This is 2% lower than the current market price. One brokerage has a 'hold' recommendation with a target price of INR 124 per share.

Following are the December quarter earnings estimates of PNB from nine brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR billion:

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IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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