Bandhan Bank Q1 profit slips 19% to Rs 721 crore

New Delhi: Post-tax profit of private lender Bandhan Bank dipped 18.7 percent to Rs 721 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal as compared to the similar previous corresponding period of Rs 890 crore.

Deposits of the bank at the end of the first quarter stood at Rs 1.08 lakh crore while advances touched Rs 1.03 lakh crore.

MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said the first quarter had been stable for the bank.

"The bank has also made significant progress in diversifying the asset base. The bank has also made considerable investments in people, technology and infrastructure", Ghosh said.

Net interest income of the bank during the first quarter stood at Rs 2,490 crore, registering a decline of 0.9 percent from Rs 2,514 crore in the previous corresponding period.

Operating profit of the bank during the current first quarter stood at Rs 1560 crore, 14.2 percent lower than the previous corresponding figure of Rs 1,820 crore.

Net interest margin (NIM) of the bank at the end of the first quarter fell to 7.3 percent as against eight percent in the previous similar period.

Ghosh said that the bank is keen to reduce its exposure to micro-credit and diversify towards advancing retail loans.

The bank's retail loan book grew 87 percent while the share of retail to total deposits now stands at 71 percent.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the bank's advances towards micro-credit loans was lower at Rs 51,000 crore from Rs 57,000 crore in the same period of the last financial year.

"In the new areas where the bank is focussing on advancing loans, the margins are lower as compared to MFI loans," Ghosh added.

Gross NPA of the bank at the end of the current first quarter was lower at 6.76 percent from 7.25 percent in the similar previous period.

Net NPA, however, increased to 2.18 percent at the end of the current first quarter from 1.92 percent in the previous corresponding quarter.

Ghosh said that in the current financial year, the bank's growth in advances is likely to be more than 20 percent.

Growth in deposits will be a little higher than advances, he stated.

CASA (ratio of current account and savings account) of the bank at the end of the first quarter stood at 36 percent.

Bandhan Bank also has plans to launch credit card business within this financial year, Ghosh said.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)