Bandhan Bank Q4 profit jumps manifold, asset quality improves

Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a whopping 18-fold jump in its net profit to Rs 1,902.34 crore for the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, compared with Rs 103.03 crore in the year-ago period, because of the rise in both interest and non-interest income and a fall in provisions.

The asset quality improved as non-performing assets (NPAs) fell 9.75% year-on-year to Rs 5,757.76 crore in absolute terms, against Rs 6,380 crore in the same quarter a year ago. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, NPAs declined 39.02% from Rs 9,441.57 crore, according to a stock exchange filing. On a year-on-year basis, the gross NPA ratio decreased 35 basis points to 6.46% from 6.81%.

Provisions (other than tax) for the quarter were trimmed massively to Rs 4.7 crore, as against Rs 1,507.70 crore in March 2021 quarter, the bank said.

Commenting on the Q4 performance, MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said recovery from NPA accounts improved significantly, NIM increased, operating profit soared and credit cost came down to around zero. “Credit cost became zero as no fresh slippages happened and collections improved,” Ghosh told FE, adding there was no NPA provision write-back during the quarter.

Other than NPA accounts, collection efficiency has returned to the pre-Covid level. Around 90% of our NPA customers are paying,” he said. At the end of the March quarter, for the EEB segment (erstwhile microbanking segment), collection efficiency, excluding NPA, stood at 99%, compared with 97% at the end of the December quarter.

The lender’s total advances (on book + off book + TLTRO + PTC) grew 14.1% to Rs 99,338.1 crore as on March 31, 2022, against Rs 87,042.9 crore as on March 31, 2021. Total deposits increased 23.5% to Rs 96,330.6 crore, compared with Rs 77,972.2 crore as on March 31, 2021.

from "Banking & Finance News: Banking & Finance News Today, Indian Banking & Finance News, World Banking & Finance News Today - The Financial Express " | The Financial Express https://ift.tt/hDgFQli