Punjab National Bank Reports Loss Of Rs 492 Crore In December Quarter As Higher Provisions Hurt

Punjab National Bank on Tuesday reported net loss of Rs 492.28 crore in quarter ended December 2019 against profit of Rs 246.51 crore in the same quarter last year. The loss in October-December period came on account of higher provisioning for non-performing assets.

The Delhi-based government-owned lender said that it provided Rs 4,445.36 crore for bad loans in December quarter up form Rs 3,253.32 crore provided for bad loans in the previous quarter and Rs 2,565.77 crore during the same period last year.

However, the bank's asset quality, as percentage of total advances, improved slightly. The gross non-performing assets came in at 16.30 as against 16.76 per cent in the previous quarter. The gross NPAs stood at Rs 76,809.20 crore versus Rs 79,458.09 crore in the previous quarter.

Net NPAs came in at 7.18 per cent versus 7.65 per cent in the previous quarter.

Punjab National Bank's - core income - net interest income or the difference between interest earned on loans and interest expended on deposits rose 1.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,355 crore.

Punjab National Bank shares rose 2.27 per cent to Rs 58.65 in line with the Sensex which was up 2.2 per cent.