PNB Q4 profit up 5.8% to Rs 1,201 cr

New Delhi: Country's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank posted a 5.8 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 1,201 crore for the three months ended March 2011.

The bank had a net profit of Rs 1,135 crore in the same period a year-ago, PNB said in a statement.

Total income rose 31.2 per cent to Rs 8,586 crore in the latest quarter compared to Rs 6,460.7 crore in the same period last year.

For the full year ended March, the lender reported a net profit of Rs 4,433 crore, representing an increase of 13.5 per cent, as against Rs 3,905 crore in the 2009-10 fiscal.

During the same period, total income jumped to Rs 30,599 crore from Rs 24,834 crore in the corresponding period.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, PNB said it has increased the base rate to 10 per cent from 9.5 per cent and Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) to 13.5 per cent from 13 per cent. These changes would be effective from May 5.

Base rate is the rate below which banks cannot lend to customers.

Source: Financial Express