PNB charts strong growth path, doubles profit as legacy issues ease: MD Ashok Chandra

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Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-05-12 11:34:37 |

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Punjab National Bank (PNB), under the leadership of its Managing Director Ashok Chandra, is taking confident strides towards a new growth trajectory after addressing several legacy challenges. In an interview, Chandra emphasised that the bank is now prioritising operating profit as a core focus, aiming to outperform its peers in both the current fiscal and in the years to come. With significant improvements in key financial metrics and a streamlined strategy, PNB is positioning itself to regain its stature as a leading public sector bank.

For the financial year ended March 2025, PNB has recorded a remarkable 102 percent growth in net profit, which surged to Rs 16,630 crore from Rs 8,245 crore in the previous year. This made it the top performer in profit growth among the 12 public sector banks in India. The bank also reported a 14 percent increase in total business, reaching Rs 26.83 trillion, reflecting one of the highest business volumes in the sector.

One of the bank’s major achievements has been the substantial reduction in non-performing assets (NPAs). PNB had been grappling with high gross and net NPAs in previous years, but these have now been reduced significantly. Gross NPAs have dropped below 4 percent, while net NPAs have fallen to 0.5 percent. Chandra stated that the bank aims to bring these levels down even further in the ongoing financial year.

To bolster its operating profit, PNB is intensifying its focus on the retail, agriculture, and MSME (RAM) sectors, as well as increasing its share of low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA). The bank has revamped its CASA product offerings, introducing specialised schemes tailored for various customer segments such as salaried individuals, women, youth, senior citizens, pensioners, defence personnel, and farmers. These new schemes are designed to meet specific needs while offering attractive benefits. In the past three months alone, the bank opened 2 lakh new salaried savings accounts, resulting in Rs 300 crore in additional deposits. With a goal to open 10 lakh new accounts and attract Rs 2,000 crore in deposits in the next six months, PNB is clearly gearing up for sustained growth.

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