New Delhi, July 13 -- Slow and steady wins the race-a mantra that public sector lender Indian Bank has continued to follow, and investors appear to approve. The stock jumped nearly 10% on Friday after the bank reported strong June-quarter (Q1FY27) earnings.

Net profit rose 10% year-on-year to Rs.3,273 crore. Strong treasury income, aided by falling bond yields, offset the impact of higher regulatory provisions. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to 1.86%, while net NPA remained steady at 0.15%.

The highlight, however, was a 6-basis-point sequential expansion in net interest margin (NIM). At a time when most banks are grappling with margin compression as deposit costs adjust with a lag to the Reserve Bank of India's rate cuts, I...