Punjab National Bank shares hit 52-week high as lender divested 10% stake in Canara HSBC Life Insurance

The state-owned lender has raised around ₹1,007 crore by selling 9.5 crore shares at ₹106 per share, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The bank clarified that the buyers were members of the public and that the transaction does not qualify as a related-party deal. The OFS was conducted on October 17, 2025, coinciding with the insurer’s market debut.

Shares of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Ltd listed on October 17 at ₹106 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which is at par with the IPO issue price of ₹106 per share. On the BSE also, the stock started trading at the same level as the issue price of ₹106.

Furthermore, Punjab National Bank had reported a net profit of ₹4,904 crore in the second quarter of the 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 the 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.

PNB expects about ₹1,500 crore in treasury income during the third quarter and an improvement in margins. During the first two quarters, the bank has booked treasury income of ₹1,800 crore and expects ₹1,500 crore during the ongoing quarter, PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said on the second-quarter financial numbers.

On the margin, he said, repricing of deposits has already started, and NIM would see improvement in the second half.

On a conservative basis, he said, the bank will see a 5 basis points (bps) improvement in NIM in the third quarter and a 10 basis points increase in the fourth quarter. The bank has given the guidance of Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 2.8-2.9% in FY26.

At 9:50 AM, PNB shares were trading at ₹119.45 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, gaining 1.51%.