'Unbelievable comeback': Govt data highlights PSU banks’ surging profit, shrinking NPAs

The fiscal health of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks has drastically improved in recent years, with their net profit surging to new highs and non-performing assets (NPA) consistently shrinking, as per the data shared by the central government.

“Public sector banks are rewriting the comeback story in style,” MyGovIndia, the citizen engagement platform of the Centre, posted on X on June 19.

“The net profit of PSU banks have surged 4X,” MyGovIndia said. The platform, while sharing a comparison of data collected over the past decade, described the financial performance of the state-run lenders as an "unbelievable comeback".

The surge has been led by the State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, whose net profit increased from ₹10,891 crore in 2013-2014 to ₹61,077 crore in 2023-24.

In the same period, the net profit clocked by the Bank of Baroda increased from ₹4,541 crore to ₹17,788 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while sharing the MyGovIndia data on X, lauded the performance of the state-run lenders. “Insightful data on how there has been a transformation in the banking sector and how PSU banks are powering it.”

NPA shrinks

PSU banks have “crushed NPAs”, MyGovIndia said, adding that the reduction of the non-performing assets is a “massive win for financial health”.

In March 2014, NPAs in PSU banks stood at ₹2.27 Lakh Crore. This came down to ₹1.02 lakh crore in 2022-23.

PSU bank stocks sore

The government pointed out that PSU banks index has outmatched other sectoral indices at the stock markets. The NIFTY PSU Bank index has soared around 82.5% in the past one year, whereas the broader NIFTY Bank index climbed 13.1%.

Benchmark indices BSE SENSEX and NIFTY 50 gained by 21.7% and 25%, respectively, in the same period.