PNB’s Q3 profit rises 13% to record Rs 5,100 crore; focus on RAM, loan recoveries

New Delhi: Punjab National Bank on Monday posted its highest ever quarterly net profit of ₹5,100 crore for the December quarter, an increase of 13% as compared to ₹4,508 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

PNB managing director Ashok Chandra told ET that the bank now aims to post an excess of ₹5,000 crore profit every quarter.

Chandra attributed this optimism to the growth which is happening in the retail, agriculture and MSME sector, or RAM, loan recoveries, and the new verticals that the bank has created. "Supply chain vertical, retail, cash management services and credit card vertical," he said, adding that these are all profit-generating verticals, noting that the bank has a book of ₹3,000 crore under the supply chain vertical and the average yield is more than 8%.


Chandra noted that the bank in FY27 will also launch trade finance, and the whole digital stack is ready. "There will be substantial revenue from this vertical as well," he added.

The bank's scrip closed at ₹128.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange down by 3.25%. PNB's net interest income declined 4.5% to ₹10,533 crore in the third quarter from ₹11,032 crore in the same period last year. PNB's gross non-performing assets ratio stood at 3.19% from 4.09% a year ago. The bank made provisions amounting to ₹1,341 crore.

Chandra said that the bank made a floating provision of ₹955 crore towards the implementation of the Expected Credit Loss, or ECL, framework.

"This quarter we had good profitability, so we thought this is the right time to make the provision and make our balance sheet strong at the time of the implementation," he saud adding the provision for bad loans is only ₹386 crore.

The bank aims to have gross non-performing assets (NPA) below 3% and net NPA below 0.35% and bring it to below 0.30% in the March quarter.

Chandra said that by the end of March 2026, the bank aims to cross the corporate loan book sanction of ₹4 lakh crore.

"Renewal energy, data centres, power distribution, the road projects, and airport projects are some of the key sectors," he said, adding that the MSME book is growing 19%, and the retail book is also growing by more than 18%.

"We are seeing the impact of the GST rate cut in all these retail, agriculture and MSME sectors. We are very bullish that we will achieve the 60% composition of the loan portfolio in the RAM sector and 40% in corporate," he added.