The Punjab National Bank has reported an improvement in both net interest income (NII) and profit after tax. Restructuring is far lower when compared to moratorium 2.0 book exposure but the business momentum remains weak. There has been a decline in net interest margin compared to the last quarter. SS Mallikarjuna Rao, MD and CEO at PNB, discussed the numbers and shared his outlook for the business going forward.

"Out of Rs 13,000 crore, we are expecting around Rs 6,000 crore to become non-performing assets (NPAs) before March. So, overall the guidance related to slippage, around Rs 12,000-13,000 crore for the entire year fresh slippage will remain,” he said.

"We are very confident that the overall by March 31, gross NPAs would be less than 14 percent and net NPA would be around 4-4.2 percent," he said.

"Restructuring invocation is completed, I am not expecting any growth in the restructuring book," he said.

In terms of MSME restructuring, he said, "So far we have restructured Rs 968 crore of the amount in MSME. Invocation is not applicable to them, it might go on but it will not be very huge figure, maximum another Rs 800-900 crore."

He said there has been an improvement in retail and SME collections. Agriculture is still an area of concern, he said.

For more, watch the video.

(Edited by : Priyanka Rathi)

First Published:Feb 8, 2021 1:41 PM IST