Public sector lender Punjab National Bank on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 5,367.14 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, on account of higher provisioning for bad loans. It is the biggest-ever quarterly loss by a domestic lender.
PNB MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian said that while growth was certainly picking up in stressed sectors like roads, it was difficult to say if stressed borrowers would benefit enough to be able to repay loans on time. After falling sharply, the bank’s stock, however, closed 3.25% higher on Wednesday on hopes that the worst was over.
After a clean up ordered by the Reserve Bank of India, India has seen a sudden increase in bad loans. The RBI asked banks to classify some troubled accounts as non-performing and make appropriate provisions for those over the December and March quarters. Andrew Holland, CEO of Ambit Investment Advisory, tweeted, "Can't say PNB CMD gave me any confidence that it's going to get better for the bank."