Punjab National Bank on Monday reported a 145 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter ended September 30 on the back of lower provisioning, improvement in asset quality and higher treasury income.

Net profit for the public sector bank was ₹4,303 crore for Q2FY25 compared with ₹1,756 crore in Q2FY24.

Net interest income during the quarter was ₹10,517 crore, up 6 per cent on a year-on-year basis from ₹9,923 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The bank saw a 91.6 per cent decline in provisions other than tax, which stood at ₹288 crore during the quarter compared with ₹3,444 crore in Q2FY24.

The gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio stood at 4.98 per cent during Q2FY25 compared with 6.96 per cent during Q2FY24 and the bank has revised its guidance on the GNPA ratio for FY25 amid improvement in asset quality.

“At the beginning of the year, we had given the guidance that our gross NPA would be 5 per cent by March 2025. But since we achieved 4.98 per cent in the June quarter itself, we revised our guidance last quarter to less than 4 per cent. Since we have already achieved 4.48 per cent, our revised guidance is GNPA by March 2025 will be within the range of 3.5-3.75 per cent,” said Atul Kumar Goel, MD and CEO, Punjab National Bank.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau on Monday recommended Ashok Chandra for the position of MD & CEO in PNB. Chandra is an executive director at Canara Bank.

LIC Housing

LIC Housing Finance on Monday reported a 12 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. Net profit during Q2FY25 was ₹1,328.89 crore compared with ₹1,188.05 crore in Q2FY24.

Revenue from operations was ₹6,926 crore, up 3 per cent from ₹6,753 crore in Q2FY24. Total disbursements were at ₹16,476 core against ₹14,665 crore in Q2FY24, up by 12 per cent.

“With stable interest rates, we expect steady growth in the next two quarters,” said Tribhuwan Adhikari, managing director and CEO of LIC Housing Finance.