Punjab National Bank Q2 earnings: Net profit rises 14% to ₹4,904 crore, NII declines marginally

Punjab National Bank, the country's leading state-run lender on Saturday, October 18, reported net profit of ₹4,904 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, marking an increase of 14% from ₹4,303 crore in the same period last year.

Its net interest income or difference between interest earned on loans and expended on deposits declined marginally to ₹10,469 crore in July-September period from ₹10,517 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, Punjab National Bank wrote back provisions worth ₹639 crore for bad loans against provisioning of ₹199 crore in the same period last year.

The Delhi-based lender's asset quality showed an improvement as its gross non-performing assets, as a percentage of total advances, improved to 3.45% from 4.48% a year earlier.

Its net NPA improved to 0.36% from 0.46%. In absolute terms, gross NPA were at ₹40,343 crore as against ₹47,582 crore during the second quarter of last financial year.

Retail credit stood at ₹2,72,210 crore as on September 2025, growing 8.8% year-on-year (YoY). Retail advances excluding IBPC grew at a faster pace of 18.1% YoY, driven by strong traction in housing and vehicle loans.

Housing loans rose 12.9% YoY to ₹1,24,099 crore. Vehicle loans registered 31% YoY growth, hitting ₹29,512 crore.

In the priority sector, agriculture advances grew 13% YoY to ₹1,83,987 crore, while MSME advances expanded 18.6% YoY to ₹1,79,220 crore, underscoring the bank’s increased credit flow to productive sectors.

The number of digital transactions surged 31% YoY to 313 crore in Q2 FY26, compared to 239 crore in the same quarter last year.

As on September 30, 2025, PNB operated 10,228 domestic branches and 2 international branches. Notably, 63.3% of its branches are located in rural and semi-urban areas, underlining its strong presence in underbanked regions.

Punjab National Bank shares ended 1.9% lower at ₹113.90 a day ahead of its earnings announcement.