PNB to roll out its wealth management product by December: Ashok Chandra

To enhance its non-interest income, Punjab National Bank (PNB) is planning to roll out wealth management services by December, the bank’s managing director and CEO Ashok Chandra said.

“The first stage of our wealth management strategy is to ensure that the bank has Customer Relationship Managers (CRMs) in place. Six months ago, we deployed around 1,700 CRMs across 1,700 branches. Their primary KRA (key responsibility area) is to manage and take care of approximately 250 to 300 top customers in each branch,” he told PTI in an interview.

The public sector lender is now planning to deploy another 1,300 CRMs and by end of this month. It would deploy them in another identified 1,300 branches.

“That was the first step we undertook. We have also started engaging with consultants for our wealth management initiative. Very shortly, we expect to initiate the RFP process to appoint a partner for wealth management services.”

“I believe that within the next three to four months, our wealth management offering will also be in place. Going forward, PNB will have a very active engagement in providing wealth management services,” he said.

Asked about the launch of this offering, he said, “We expect to roll it out by the third quarter.”

Speaking about its credit card business, Chandra said, the bank working on expanding its business which it is operating as a division headed by a General Manager.

“As of March 31, 2025, the bank had only around 6.6 lakh credit card holders. However, we saw significant potential in the credit card business and decided to scale up the business. The first step was to create a comprehensive roadmap supported by a digital stack. It took us around five months to build the digital infrastructure,” he said.

Once the digital structure was in place in November 2025, the bank started scaling up the business aggressively, he said, adding, PNB also launched a premium, high-net-worth metal credit card called the Luxura Credit Card, which has generated significant traction in the overall credit card market.

“By the end of March 2026, we had around 9 lakh credit card holders, and today we are approaching 10 lakh. This year, we expect to cross 15 lakh credit card holders. We are already approaching the 25,000 mark for our high-net-worth Luxura Credit Card. We launched it just four months ago, and we have already reached around 25,000 cardholders,” he said.

The bank has introduced a number of facilities and benefits through the metal card and expects cardholder numbers to touch 1 lakh by the end of the ongoing financial year.

“I believe it has been a very positive move by the bank and will contribute significantly to the bank’s bottom line going forward,” he added.

Chandra exuded confidence that the bank’s profit would surpass the Rs 20,000 crore mark in the ongoing financial year. The public sector lender had earned a net profit of Rs 16,904 crore in the previous financial year.

From the second quarter of last financial year, the bank has been maintaining a net profit of over Rs 5,000 crore every quarter, he said.

“We have maintained the same trend in the first quarter (ongoing financial year). And I am hopeful and confident that with the profitable growth, which is happening in the system....we will be surpassing the Rs 5,000 crore number and every quarter will be reaching a new height,” he said.

Asked if the bank can cross the Rs 20,000 crore mark during FY27 at this run rate, he said, “If I am telling that every quarter Rs 5,000 crore of net profit will happen, I think that goes to that figure which you are talking about”.

To achieve the target, he said, the bank is focusing heavily on conducting mega outreach activities every quarter on a very large scale.

Besides, he said, retail, agri, MSME, and self-help groups are going to be the focus areas for asset creation.

Overall, loan growth will be 12-13 per cent while deposits would be growing at 9-10 per cent during the ongoing financial year, he added.