New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- Punjab National Bank on Friday reported a 13 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 5,532 crore in Q2 FY27 against Rs 4,904 crore in Q2 FY26 on higher core income and improved asset quality.

Total income rose to Rs 38,185 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 36,214 crore a year earlier, PNB said in a regulatory filing. Interest income increased 9 per cent to Rs 34,585 crore from Rs 31,872 crore, while net interest income grew 11 per cent to Rs 11,601 crore from Rs 10,469 crore. Operating profit, however, rose 4 per cent to Rs 7,532 crore from Rs 7,227 crore.

PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra attributed the relatively modest operating profit growth to lower treasury income amid hardening interest rates. Treasury income declined to Rs 753 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,769 crore a year ago, he said. Excluding treasury income, operating profit would have exceeded Rs 8,000 crore, Chandra said.

PNB plans to raise $1 billion from overseas investors under its Medium-Term Note (MTN) Programme and is awaiting an opportune time to mobilise the funds, he said.

The bank's gross NPAs fell to 2.55 per cent of gross advances at the end of September 2026 from 3.45 per cent a year earlier. Net NPAs fell to 0.25 per cent from 0.36 per cent. The slippage ratio stood at 0.77 per cent in Q2 FY27, against 0.71 per cent in Q2 FY26. Provisions and contingencies fell to Rs 97 crore from Rs 643 crore.

The bank made a floating provision of Rs 125 crore during the quarter, taking the aggregate to Rs 2,560 crore. The additional provision will help meet Expected Credit Loss norms effective April 1 & improve the Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR), Chandra said. PCR rose to 97.32 per cent as of September 30, 2026, from 96.91 per cent a year ago. Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) improved to 17.95 per cent from 17.19 per cent.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) declined to 2.69 per cent from 2.78 per cent. Global business grew 12 per cent to Rs 31,18,434 crore from Rs 27,86,673 crore. Advances rose 15 per cent to Rs 13,41,194 crore, while deposits increased 10 per cent to Rs 17,77,240 crore.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.