Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday reported a 13 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 5,532 crore for the second quarter ended September 2026, driven by improved core income and a moderation in bad loans.
The country’s second-largest public sector lender had logged a profit of Rs 4,904 crore in the year-ago period.
The bank’s total income increased to Rs 38,185 crore in the second quarter from Rs 36,214 crore a year ago, PNB said in a regulatory filing.
Interest income rose 9 per cent to Rs 34,585 crore in the September quarter of FY27 from Rs 31,872 crore in the year-ago period, while net interest income rose 11 per cent to Rs 11,601 crore from Rs 10,469 crore in the second quarter of last financial year.
However, operating profit grew 4 per cent to Rs 7,532 crore from Rs 7,227 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Explaining the reason for muted growth in operating profit, PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said that it was due to depressed treasury income due to the hardening of interest rates.
The treasury income came down by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 753 crore in the second quarter as against Rs 1,769 crore in the same period a year ago, he said at the post-result interaction with the media.
Excluding treasury income, the bank’s operating profit would have exceeded Rs 8,000 crore during the quarter, he added.
On raising funds from overseas investors, Chandra said the bank will raise USD 1 billion under its Medium-Term Note (MTN) Programme. The bank is waiting for an opportune time to mobilise the funds, he said.
On asset quality, the bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) moderated to 2.55 per cent of gross advances at the end of September 2026, down from 3.45 per cent a year ago.
Similarly, net NPAs, or bad loans, fell to 0.25 per cent at the end of September 2026, down from 0.36 per cent at the end of September 2025.