Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Q4 FY25 earnings call of Canara Bank. With us today, we have Mr. Satyanarayana Raju , MD and CEO, sir, Mr. Debashish Mukherjee, Executive Director, Mr. Hardeep Singh Ahluwalia, Executive Director, and Mr. S. K. Majumdar, CFO . We will start the call with the opening remarks from the MD, sir, post which we will proceed to the Q&A session. MD, sir, over to you.
Good evening to all of you, sir. Thank you once again for attending this investors' meet, analyst meet, sir. I'm here to share some snapshots or the performance highlights of the entire financial year as well as the fourth quarter to all of you. Along with me, my senior colleagues, Debashish Mukherjee, sir, is here. Hardeep Singh Ahluwalia is there, and S. K. Majumdar is there, and all our top brass, top management is sitting here. Once I give the highlights, you are free to ask any of the clarifications. We are here to clarify that, sir. Our global business has grown at 11.32% and stood at 25.30 lakh crore. As against our guidance of 10%, the first time the bank has crossed 25 trillion, and last two years we garnered the business of more than 5 trillion.
Our global deposit has grown at 11.01% and stood at 14.56 lakh crore, as against our guidance of 9%. Our global advances have grown at 11.74% and stood at 10.73 lakh crore, as against the guidance of 10%. Our operating profit has grown at 12.14% year on year and stood at 8,284 crores. The first time we crossed quarterly operating profit above 8,000. Our net profit has crossed 5,000 crores with a growth rate of year on year. It's 33.19%. And first time in the history of the Canara Bank, quarterly net profit has crossed 5,000. Our PCR has improved to 92.70% with a year on year improvement of 360 basis points. It's the highest in the history of the Canara Bank that in one year the PCR increase increased that much.
Our gross NPA has reduced considerably and stood at 2.94%, as against our commitment of our guidance of 3.5% and year on year decline of 129 basis points. Our net NPA stood at 0.70%, as against the guidance of 1.10, with a year on year decline of 57 basis points. With all these bottom line growth, steady growth, and the top line growth, I'm very happy to share with all the investors and the analysts that our board has recommended for a dividend of 200% with a paid-up capital, as against the last year 161%. That is INR 4 for every INR 2 share face value of that.
One thing I want to clarify to you is we have tremendous improvement we could show in the asset quality, both in the PCR as well as gross NPA and net NPA by recovery as well as controlling the slippages, but without compromising the top line growth and the bottom line growth. So that's what actually the best point of this year, what performance we can say that. This is always possible because our RAM credit has grown at 13.23%, stood at 6.10 lakh. Our retail credit has grown at 2.23 lakh with a year on year growth rate of 42.80%. The 42.80%, you may feel that it is an outlier, but the reason already last two times I shared with you, but once again at the cost of repetition, I'll share it with you.
Last one year, last year first April onwards, we stopped lending to agriculture purpose in the metropolitan but to meet the requirement of metropolitan borrowers who want to borrow against the gold. We introduced a loan against gold, secured loan against the consumption purpose. That has actually attracted many people. That is the reason actually earlier we have INR 16,000 crores agriculture loans in the metropolitan that entire thing has been shifted to. It's not that as it is, it is shifted. Some of those loans have been closed, some of those loans have been renewed and all. But so that's here the agriculture that to the extent of INR 16,000 crores, there was a dent was there in the agriculture gold loans. But that has been benefited in the retail credit. So our housing loan growth is at 13.57% and stood at INR 1,006,000 crores.
Our vehicle loan is almost growing at 20%. That's stood at INR 20,637 crores. Our earning per share is at INR 18.77 for each INR 2 face value share with a 16.98% growth. And our fee-based income, the bottom line is growth is mainly helped by the recoveries in the technical write-off of accounts as well as the fee-based income growth. Year on year it is 20.30%, stood at INR 2,335 crores. Our slippage ratio we could well maintain well less than the 1% as against the given guidance of 1.10%, but we could maintain at 0.90%. Previous quarter it was 0.96%. It is further down to the 0.90% with an improvement of 38 basis points. These are all the few highlights I could share it with you. I'm sure that by this time you all might have gone through that our presentation.
Now you are all welcome for asking any clarifications or questions, sir. We are all here to clarify to you. So over to you, sir.
Thank you, everyone. Whoever wishes to ask a question, please raise your hands and limit your questions to two co-participants. We have a first question from the line on Mr. Ashok Ajmera. So please unmute yourselves and go ahead.
Yes, sir. Good evening, sir. Raju.
Good evening.
In the team of Canara Bank and.
Good evening, Ashok.
Again, compliments to you, sir, for fantastic results. Especially on the if you see straight away the bottom line of the quarter, you know it has gone from INR 4,100 crore to INR 5,002 crore, which is very, very important. Otherwise, there are headlines. You know the profit has gone down by 10% or 5%. So this is some very, very positive this thing in spite of all the provisioning and everything. Having said that, sir, this profit has been on the back of certain changes in the RBI norms, also mainly in the SRs issued by the NARCL, which is the 100% government guaranteed SRs. And because of that, there is some provision reversal and there are some gains. So, sir, I would like to just understand the entire mathematics of these two, three items which are together.
One is that excess provision reversal in the end is INR 1,463 crore on the sale of stressed assets. Then excess provision reversal of INR 1,724 crore for NARCL, the SRs revaluation based on the fair market price. And also the unaccounted gain of INR 97 crore, which has also been taken in P&L. So net net the net provision overall is INR 1,831 crore. So can somebody unfold how this figure has finally come to.
Sir, I'll ask.
1,831 to director.
There is an extra provision of NPA. There is an extra provision of. I mean, the provision on NPA account is also much higher, of INR 2,847 crore in this quarter. So.
So that's why you can see.
All these three different figures.
Yes, sir.
Sir, Ashok Ji, that's why you can see that you can really the overall whatever the benefit we got through that SRs reversal, provisioning reversal and all, we could use it for strengthening our provision coverage ratio, PCR. In last quarter, it is 91.29 something is there. Now this quarter, it is 92.70, almost 150 basis points increased in our provision coverage ratio. That is why that you are showing that the higher provisioning in the NPA accounts. It is not mandatory, but we want to strengthen that our balance sheet. We want to strengthen that our PCR to make it at par with other peer banks because you know that historically we were a little behind that in the PCR. We don't want to continue like that. We want to take that benefit whatever it is there in that.
That is the major accounting policy that we have used them for strengthening our PCR. Further up, down to down, line to line, apple to apple. If you want any clarifications, our Executive Director, Majumdar, is there. He will clarify to you, sir.
Sir, your basic question is how much of that profit is due to change in the norm that SR reversal provision, isn't it? Sir, our total SR was around INR 1,700 crore, of which till December there was a provision of INR 1,100 crore. The rest 600 crore, there was no question of reversal, which we did not have to do for the March quarter. That 1,100 crore is actually that reversal happened, and out of that 1,100 crore, 500 crore has gone into what you see as part of the profit. Another 600 crore we have made a provision, as sir explained, for non-performing assets just to improve our provision coverage ratio. You will also agree that when you compare our bank with my peers, all of them are today having a provision coverage of 95% or above 95%. So we also want to be in that space.
It is because once you cross that 95% PCR, you can do nothing. Worries you. Any sort of dents, you are no longer worried, so we want to go to that space. We want to improve the PCR strongly, and to answer your question, that has gone, INR 600 crore has gone into that. And extra provision of INR 500 crore has gone into profit, and INR 600 crore is gone in providing for this. For this extra provision, which has improved the provision coverage ratio to a considerable extent, and sir, you will see that now, sir, the major thing, this, I think you will be impressed if you see the key data, that our provision coverage ratio excluding TWO has crossed 76%. It is 76.6%. It is almost 77%, which is the real strength of the bank.
And it will go, and we are almost in line with my peers, formidable peers. So, I hope, and this is how you have got; also, we could declare 200% dividend. Having said that, as you know, that this amount which from out of SR addition, as per the guideline, cannot be used for dividend payment. So, these whatever INR 500 crore I have added in profit could not be used for dividend payment. And this also needs to be deducted from capital, CET1. So, we have also; it has not that I could take. This has also had to be; that INR 1,700 crore had to be reduced from CET1. So, you want to find out what is the strength of the bank without this non-core income.
I am sure you must have seen, and glad to know that even without this non-core income, our CET1 today is 12.03, which is a formidable strength for this bank.
Thank you so very much.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you very much, sir, for such an elaborate answer. And especially you know what we wanted to know that on a continuous basis, you know how much profit is unusual and this thing. So you have very well clarified that only 500 crore has finally gone on account of this SR provision reversal in the P&L, which may not accrue to you quarter after quarter because.
Exactly.
Sir, I could not take it to capital also. That you must remember.
And definitely, sir, as far as the core strength and the compliments are concerned for the business, you have crossed for the first time, I think, 25 lakh crore business. So definitely a lot of good things have happened in the bank, especially in the whole year and this quarter particularly. Another data point, sir, was on PSLC commission profit. I mean the commission income. So in the whole year, you earned about 1,546 crore. And in this quarter, you made 130 crore. Now going forward, whether this can be taken as a normal income coming regularly to the bank, or we may say that it may or may not accrue in future?
No, sir. Actually, this PSLC, how it comes, it's a demand and supply. Because that now we used to last year we have sold almost INR 86,000 crores in the form of a PSLC. But the last year supply also is comparatively high because of the gold loans under agriculture and all. Because of latest RBI regulations and all, there may be a reduction in the availability of the priority sector loans in the market. So even that may impact the Canara Bank also for amount to which we can sell, but not the income. Because when the supply is more, your demand will be less. The available commission will be less. That we will get last first quarter, we used to get 1.75 to only 1.8 or 1.9. But that is a tendency as the reversed at the end of the quarter. For one quarter, we got almost 2% commission.
Generally, that is against 0.4%-0.5%. And the first quarter, this quarter, may have seen rates already touching 3%. So maybe my quantum may reduce in the selling in the market from 80,000 to 40,000 or 50,000. But my income may not be reduced because the demand will be very high and the commission will be very high.
Yes, sir, this point. Sir, one question is on the investment book. Because of the change norms.
We'll find the cue. We'll take a question from the line of Ms. Mahrukh Ma'am, please go ahead with the question.
Hello. Hello. Good evening. So I have a couple of questions. My first question is on recovery in written-off accounts in the P&L. Right? So that is a very strong income item this quarter. It's been strong for the last few quarters. But this quarter, it's actually a bit higher than SBI's as well. You know whereas SBI also has a large OCA pool. So what is your total write-off pool and what is the visibility on this? Because now we've even crossed SBI's, right? And it's on the higher side. So that's my first question. And I have other two. So in the interest income breakdown, interest on loans, interest on investments, and other interest income, there is a sharp jump over Q3 of FY23. Right? So it has increased by around INR 300 crore. So is there a one-off tax refund? What explains that sharp jump?
My third thing is if you can explain how the retail gold, how the agri gold loans were converted to retail gold loans? Yeah.
Okay, Madam. First, recovery in written-off accounts, Madam. Recovery from written-off accounts, every year, we are telling that on an average 4,000 to 5,000. We can easily recover that. With whatever we have a book of almost INR 70,000 crore as on date also. When we have INR 70,000 crore, so we have nothing to do compare with the other peer bank or anybody. Because we have potential to recover. Our systems are very strong. Some centralized processing is there. Special schemes are there in those written-off accounts. It will continue to do that. Last year, if you see the total 5,963, we could recover this time almost INR 1,000 crore more we could recover. Last time when we recovered 5,963, you people have asked, so it may not be possible in the next year because is it this much you are recovered.
But we have shown that we can recover better than that. Simultaneously, you should agree that when you have made 100% provisioning in the balance sheet, we are also doing the write-off to clean the balance sheet. That will be added to my kitty and that will be available for recovery in the forthcoming quarters. So for whatever the base is there, that INR 70,000 crore, it is not coming down. Maybe the composition is changing, but the base is available to us. So we are sure that this year also we will continue to perform at the same level in the recovery of accounts. And I don't see any reduction in that recovery from the written-off accounts. The second one is interest income.
Was there any one of this quarter?
Madam?
No, no, madam. There is no one of the it is actually comes from small, small accounts. Many things are there. We have actually set up of corporate as well as non-corporate. We get equal amounts in that targets will be given like that only. It is through OTS systems, through collections. It's not a one-time allotment. Anything is there, madam. And the second one is interest income. You asked me that interest income increase. If you first before telling the interest income, one thing I have to tell you that our cost of deposits and funds, you should look at that. That the entire year we could manage with only from June 2024 to March 2025. So both in that, it's hardly four basis points in the cost of deposits and three basis points in the cost of funds. That we could manage in the cost.
When you can manage in the cost, it will help in your yield and advances simultaneously or interest income pay. Net interest. Total interest income pay jump this quarter also. We got second quarter we got very good interest on NPA recovery, and third quarter it has come down a little slightly, one or two hundred, but again this quarter we got more than 700 crores in the interest on NPA, so that also is helping in that, so when our collections are very good, it will be helping that. Pardon, madam?
So the other interest means interest on loans is not interest on the accounts.
Other interest is nothing but that's what, madam. Other interest is nothing but when you have a surplus or the available liquidity funds in your system. That's true liquidity you will lend in the overnight call money markets. That will be used in the; that is the actual income. Depending on your liquidity, depending on the demand, you do that. So that is quarterly. It may be a little bit changes will be there sometimes if the supply is less. We get more benefit. If supply is more, we may get little less. But it's a part of the regular business. There is no one time on that.
Got it, sir. Got it.
Third one, you spoke about agriculture gold loans. Agriculture gold loans have come down from last year to this year. Now actually the agriculture gold loans have come down to around INR 130,000 crores, madam. Out of these, 246 the agriculture total 247. 132-133 is agriculture gold loan. Earlier it used to be almost 153-154. Now it has come down almost 132-133. Because in metropolitan we stopped lending that. We have not lost the business in the gold loan. The gold loan portfolio has increased almost near to 20%. We have grown from 153 to 181,000 crores. The overall growth has not come down. It is a little bit shifting from agriculture purposes to the RAM credit, the retail credit. Because we have come out with a new product.
That product is compensating that whatever we lost in the agriculture gold.
Okay, sir. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
We have a next question from the line of Mr. Kunal Shah. Hello.
Tell me, sir.
Yeah.
So, first question, maybe in terms of, again, sorry, touching upon the notes to accounts which is there. There, it still mentions that the excess provisioning reversal has been almost 1,700 crores on account of this, maybe the government guaranteed SR. But you said, like, it's only like 1,100 crores. So, not able to get that number. Like, in notes to accounts, it clearly says that it has reversed excess provisioning of 1,700 crores to P&L.
Exactly. It is 1,700 crore including March. But March provision was to be made. So when I reverse the SR quantum, then the requirement is 1,700 crore. Because I am doing it in April. But 600 was not booked till December. So I need not have to make that 600 provision. 1,100 plus 600 becomes 1,700. 1,100 provision was already made which is reversed.
And when you look at it in terms of the notes to accounts on 12.5, again these excess.
No, no. Your voice we are unable to hear. Please be louder.
So, I'm saying again, when you refer to 12.5, hello? Is it better?
Yes, yes.
Yeah. I was saying when you refer to Notes to Accounts 12.5, again it says that there is excess provisioning reversal on account of sale of stressed loans. So this is the subset of government guaranteed SR or this is different?
No, no. This has got not the government SR. This is something in the normal course, the sale that happens to ARC, this whatever. Those provisions gets reversed. No.
Yeah. So this is how much would be for this quarter? For Q this is portfolio?
This is for the full year. Full year.
So how much is for Q?
This is SR plus other than that. That is the total figure.
Yeah. No, no. I was saying how much is fourth quarter?
It is fourth quarter only. It is from that you deduct the SR part. The rest is for others.
Okay. Okay. I'll just take that offline. And maybe secondly, when you look at it on the slippage, so slippage has increased on a quarter-on-quarter basis. If you can just highlight in terms of the segments, is it largely MSME and agri which is leading to this kind of sequential increase? No doubt on a year-on-year basis it is still down. But quarter-on-quarter basis there is some rise over there. So which segments are different?
No. It is only the three sectors. That is MSME, it is INR 1,250 crore. The agriculture is INR 750 crore. The retail is INR 650 crore. We have seen that only the earlier MSME was used to slip around INR 1,000 crores. That has gone to the INR 1,250 crore. Only that much difference is there. Not much more than that.
Okay. Okay. Got it. Yeah. Thank you.
We have a next question from the line of Piran. We have a next question from the line of the Piran Engineer.
Yeah. Hi sir. Congrats on the good set of numbers.
Thank you, sir.
Yeah. Thank you, sir. So just firstly on gold loans, sir, you said with the new guidelines, ability to sell PSLC will be less this year. Can you just broadly elaborate what you meant by that? Like how does this impact our business overall?
No. Actually, the business overall business it will not impact. But there will be some reclassification. The reclassification may happen in the agriculture when we have seen that in our priority sector, agriculture, including the agriculture gold loans. That is a core agriculture and the gold loans for agriculture purpose. But core agriculture is growing at a double-digit growth, more than 10.5%. That's continuing its growth. But the agriculture gold loans gradually we ourselves are coming out instead of waiting for the final guidelines from the RBI. That steps we have taken last year. Previous year we have taken, we have stopped lending against the interest subvention. Then thereafter towards last year we stopped lending to in the metropolitan cities agriculture purposes. But these are all the actually activities now shifted some of those agriculture gold loans from this to agriculture to retail.
But in the industry may have some concerns, some areas, some banks when there are inspections are happened, the regulatory concerns of that up to 2 lakhs of agriculture loans. And gold taking again as a pledge maybe some concerns may come in the when it comes for that final guidelines. So that also may cause to reduce in the classifying these gold loans under the agriculture. So only classification purposes go the agriculture loans may available for the selling in the PSLC in the market itself may come down. When the market itself come down, but the demand will be automatically increases from every corner. Your income will continue to be earning on the same level. Only there is a nomenclature changes from agriculture to retail. So overall business will not impact anything. That's what actually I want to clarify to you.
But sir, it will also impact us, right? Because the agri gold loan will hit Canara Bank. Because the agri gold loan now will not be PSL compliant if it is below 2 lakhs.
That's what I'm telling you, sir. Actually, our 40% requirement priority sector. Our achievement is 56%. We have 16%. When you have 16% with us and all other banks also having some surplus, the demand is less. The commission offered on that PSLC used to range from first quarter, maybe 1.5%-1.75%. In the last quarter, maybe 0.4%-0.5%. But since the availability because of this reclassification, it's not that the reclassification impacts only the bank, Canara Bank. It impacts all the banks. So supply also, even RRBs also will be impacted. So supply itself will come down. But it's not that we will be coming below 40%. From 56% we may come to 50% or 51%. But still we have quantum of 10%-11% to sell in the PSLC. But it gives an opportunity to sell at a higher commission.
Cost.
Yeah. So already in the first April itself, I have seen that the commission is touching almost 3%. In the last quarter, we sold more than 2%. Generally, that's last quarter may the commission used to get we get at only 0.4%. But we got 2%. So that demand increases. That's naturally we expect more higher commission when the demand is more.
Understood. Understood, sir. Sir, and also just on retail loans, we've overall book is up 42% YOI. Now the main driver here will be gold loans, is it, sir? Because housing is up 13%, vehicle 19%.
Actually, normal retail is growing at 14%-15% other than gold. Housing, vehicle, and all.
Okay.
But the gold loan portfolio new product we have launched in the four metropolitan cities and all, that is helping that portfolio to grow at 42%.
So how big is gold?
Other than gold is growing at 14%-15%. With gold, it is 42%.
Okay. Sir, so how big is the retail gold book? Around 50,000 crores.
Now it is around 223,000 retail growth. Isn't it, sir?
Understood. Sir, just last question on bulk deposits. What is the cost of bulk deposits today? How has it moved in the last one month?
Now, bulk deposits, the demand has come down. The market rates also has come down drastically, and we also reduced our retail deposits. Our interest rate on the deposits have reduced drastically, but this we have seen only in the bulk deposits. Still, we are not seeing much rate reduction in the retail term deposits. Unless otherwise interest on retail term deposits comes down, it may not get benefit in the cost of funds.
Yeah. Yeah. No, but ABI kitna hoga, sir? Like 6%, 6.5% the rate?
No, no, no.
Because you are above 4 lakhs.
Even now also it is ranging around 7%.
It depends on the tenure.
It depends on the tenure also. See, you can't generalize it. So 46 days, 90 days, 6 months, 3 months, 1 year. It varies for that. But overall it is I think it's around if it is 1 year, it is around 7.10%. That is the percentage.
Understood. Okay. This is it from my end. Thank you. Wish you all the best.
Thank you, sir.
We have a next question from the line on Mr. Jai.
Hello. Yeah. Good evening, sir.
Good evening, sir.
Sir, a few questions. First, sir, out of this just on agri gold and retail gold, just to reconfirm the number. So out of INR 2.46 lakh crore of agri portfolio, the agri gold is INR 1.3 lakh crore. Right?
Yes, sir.
Is that the number?
Yes, sir.
Retail gold is INR 48,000 crores.
Yes, sir.
Correct. And sir, this number, how much was this last year, FY24, retail gold and agri gold?
Retail gold was hardly. It is INR 1,000-2,000, sir. Now it is increased to INR 48,000. But the agriculture gold was 153. It has come down to 133.
Okay. Right. Sir, what is the yield on this retail gold broad range?
It's above 9%, sir.
Okay. So, sir, this growth in this retail gold is also helping the yields. Right? That is a fair assumption. Right?
Definitely. Definitely. Definitely, sir.
Right. And sir, how do you see the growth has been phenomenal. Right? And you said that part of this was because you had a portfolio which was earmarked as agri. So from INR 48,000 crore, how big can this be? Or do you think that whatever shift has to happen has already happened in this agri in retail gold?
Sir, from metropolitan book, it is shifted already completely.
Okay.
Isn't it, sir? Now this year we may take little more actions in line with the regulator. That is we may stop funding up to INR two lakhs on the agriculture purpose by taking the gold. So that also may push another INR 20,000 crores to retail. Hello?
Jay.
Yeah.
Sir, I was saying that this INR 48,000 crore can move up to INR 70,000 crore by FY26 end. Is that the range? Broad range? We can expect that that's in the retail personal.
Right. And sir, what is the yield in agri gold?
See, it is around 8.7, 8.6. That will be like that. But this is 9.10, 9.15.
Right. So maybe 30-40 basis point yield differential. Not material for us, sir.
Okay. Sure, and secondly, sir, if you can also highlight what is your loan mix by benchmark, EBLR, MCLR, and this gold?
Gold is 44%, sir. MCLR is 45%.
Okay. 44 is EBLR.
EBLR, sir.
Gold loans, sir, would that be fixed or still floating?
No, sir. It is in MCLR linked, sir.
Okay. So sir, your EBLR resetting if the RBI decides to cut repo rate on, let's say, in February 2024, you would have passed on almost immediately. Right? One, two days difference.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. In both the times, we have passed it on within three days or four days.
Right. So sir, now when RBI is yet to complete I mean, yet to cut, let's say, broad consensus around 50 basis point, your 44% of the EBLR will see immediate repricing. Your cost of deposit will remain more or less flattish or may come down by 10, 20 basis point. How is it that your margin will held up? I mean, you have said that margin will decline more or less by 5 basis point only. So what is the offset?
No, no. If you see that sequentially from December and the March, our NIM is improved 3 basis points. But the rate of interest, though already one time we have reduced that in the February itself, that repo rate, this is only because of our effective operations of retail deposits and bulk deposits. In the March quarter on January 26, we have given a call to we have taken as an entire bank, we have taken a call to focus more on the retail deposits and CASA. We have given a call that each staff has to mobilize 10 lakh deposits, which is actually the tremendous response has come from our 82,000 staff members. There we have expected that we may garner around 8,000 crores, but we could garner 17,000 crores. That 17,000 crores at retail deposits and CASA.
I'll request everybody else to mute the mic, please. Others who are not talking.
So this INR 17,000 crore has helped us in improving that 3 basis points in the NIM there. Like that, we want to continue. And already bulk deposits this year it has come down already April 1 onwards we have seen that softening in the rates on the bulk deposits. That also will help us in maintaining that. Maybe first quarter and second quarter some stress may be there, but I am sure that in the third quarter and fourth quarter we can regain it. And we will be there at 2.75%-2.80%. See, already 2.73% is there in the current March quarter where you have found that the deposit rates have gone to the peak. Now deposit rates also started softening it. When such conditions we are confident that overall cumulative it can be maintained at 2.75%-2.8%.
Thank you, sir. We have a next question from the line of Kunsh Kandar. Kunsh, please unmute yourself and go ahead.
Hello.
We have a next question from the line of Mr. Prabhul Agrawal. Prabhul Agrawal. We have a next question from Om. We have a next question from the line of Mr. Janardhan. Janardhan. Mr. Bhavik.
Hi, sir. Am I audible?
Hi. Yes, you are audible, sir.
Oh, so thanks for the opportunity, sir. Sir, three questions. So first, sir, in a CASA rate, would be at 2.9% versus a peer at 2.7%-2.75% savings account rate. Do we plan to?
Repeat the first question.
Sir, our savings account rate would be 2.9% versus peers at 2.7%, 2.75%. Do we plan to cut our savings account rate?
See, the decision we are to take, we are not focused on that. Actually, our rate of interest at 2.90 at this moment. So we have a cushion to reduce up to match with that other banks at 20 basis points. We are yet to take a call on that because we are not focused. Once this results and all is over, the ALCO committee, next ALCO committee, the discussion will happen and we'll take a call on that.
Okay. But sir, doesn't you would be open to do it, right?
But at the same time, we may pass some benefit to the customer also. It's not that we want to take benefit from the customer. We want to give it back to the customer also, that maybe it's too early to comment on that. We may waive the minimum balance charges completely. Something will be there. It is not that we want to take something from the customer.
Understood. Understood, sir. And sir, how should we think about your credit cost? As in last few years, PCR improved meaningfully. Incrementally, as in we don't need to improve PCR a lot. So why still guidance of 90 basis point? Can we suppress our credit cost?
No, no. Still, our PCR is at 92.70%. Last time also, several times I shared with you that our target is our PCR should be above 95%. So that any shocks, anything is, we will be easily absorbing that. It's a complete it will be ensured. That is the purpose. Actually, we want to ensure that our PCR should touch either 95% or cross the 95%. That's the approach we have taken two years back also. We have shown that in the current year, one year itself, we have increased 360 basis points. There we want to touch that till that we touch the 95%, we want to keep additional provisioning in the NPA accounts. That additional provisioning, whatever we are doing it, that is turning into a credit cost. Otherwise, in practical purposes, in real purposes, the credit cost will be much, much lower.
But in a future ready balance sheet, we want to strengthen that balance sheet. We want to strengthen our PCR. That's why we are providing more provisions on the NPAs.
Understood, sir. And sir, what would be your average LCR as on date? Liquidity coverage ratio.
See, average LCR is almost 139%-140% is there.
Understood, sir. So thank you so much, sir. That's it from my side.
Thank you, dear.
Thank you. So we have a next question from the line of Mr. Anand Dama. So please unmute yourself.
Thank you. Sir, my first question is on your SME slippage during the current quarter. Do you see more NPAs flowing from there? Because if you look at your SMA book also has gone up, particularly the SMA 0. Is it more because of the mid-corporate segment to some extent slipping through?
No, sir. Let me clarify to you that actually SMA may, if you see that overall, if year on year or the if quarter on quarter, if you see there is a reduction. That's because of that RINL has gone out of this. But still earlier also I shared with you that three more accounts are there, two government accounts from one state. That one our Bengaluru one corporate account. These three accounts are coming they are continuing in the SMA. So those two together itself is INR 7,000 crore. These three accounts together. If you remove that, it is hardly any INR 3,000 crore.
But then if you look at this quarter, you had higher SME slippages. So that is not part of the SMA book at all, right?
No, no. I'm telling you this quarter, again I'm telling you, this quarter you should not see that the quarter on quarter, sir. I don't agree with you. Always March quarter you should compare with the previous year March quarter because it's 100% auditing will happen. It's not the system. Whatever the system driven is there, only that NPAs will be looked into that. Sometimes on technical grounds also, some of the auditors would like to classify some accounts as an NPA. Maybe a small accounts. Such things will happen and the respective authorities will agree for slippages and all. Otherwise, actual slippages were 2,200. Then during the branch audit and all, some 400 crores have been added. That's why it has come to 2,700 crores. Sequentially, if you see that it's 2,500 to 2,700, it's 200 to 250 crores more, you can see that.
But mostly it has happened only in the MSME sector. Generally, quarter on quarter, every quarter, our MSME slippages are 1,000 crores. But this quarter, because of some auditors' technical grounds, if they classify that through MOCs, another 250 crores is there. Our MSME slippage is now this quarter, it's 1,250 crores, sir.
So it's mainly because of technical, not the underlying stress in the SMA pool?
No, no, no.
That's a conclusion, right?
Nothing.
Yeah. Sir, one more question was on your PLI incentive.
Again, my request to you is March always compare with the previous March, not sequentially.
Sure, sure, sir. And sir, how much is our PLI incentive that we have provided during the quarter?
Almost INR 250 crores we have provided, sir.
Okay. Great, sir. Thanks a lot.
Thank you, dear.
We have a next question from the line of Prabhul Agrawal Deshpur. Please unmute yourself. We have a next question from the line of Mr. Akhilesh.
Hi, sir. Can you hear me?
Hi. I can hear you, sir.
Yeah, sir. Good evening. Sir, just one question. If you can provide a certain guidance on your overall advances growth and the return on assets, I mean, your targets going further for financial year 26.
Advances growth. Already we have given a guidance of 10%-11%. Our return on average assets also, we have given a guidance of 1.05%. Generally, you are aware that we give conservatively and we will try to surpass that what we have given.
Okay, sir. Okay. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you, sir.
We have a next question from the line of Mr. Ashlesh. So please unmute yourself.
Hi, sir. Good afternoon. Sir, first question is on a disclosure on slide number 16, where you have shared the non-interest income recovery. This amount is about INR 2,471 crores. That is one disclosure. Then on slide number 28, you have given another number, which is INR 3,049 crores, which is recoveries in return of account. Actually, let me explain what is the difference between these two.
Let me say that in the return of accounts, when you recover the amount, something will go to the book balance, something will go to the interest amount. This is the difference. Actually, when you show that 3,000 odd is total together, both towards the book balance and both the interest. But when you see the other side, only the reduction of the NPA, when you see that, there we have taken only book balance.
You mentioned another amount of about INR 700 crores earlier in the call, which was interest from NPA recoveries.
That is on interest on NPA that will be reflecting in other interest income, interest on advances. That is adding to my NII.
Okay. So both these items going to NII?
No, both will not go. One will go to that NII interest portion. The other portion will come to that other income. Principal portion will go into the other income.
Okay. Sorry. Sorry to repeat this one. The difference in the slide numbers, 2,471 on slide 16 and 3,049, that's about INR 600 crores difference.
That's what I'm telling, sir. Whatever the actual interest on recovery, interest also, interest on NPA accounts will be bifurcated into two. One is interest on actual NPA accounts. One is interest on written-off NPA TWO. So that's where when we reflect written-off accounts, we will not take the interest on NPA accounts. We will show only the interest on written-off accounts and plus recovery towards the written-off accounts balance. These two together only we reflect that. That's why you are thinking that the difference is.
Both these items go into interest income? Both these items go into interest income?
I'm telling you interest on return of accounts and interest on NPA accounts. Both will go to the interest on advances. But interest recovery towards the return of accounts book balance will go to the other income.
Sir, secondly, can you just share the size of your personal loans book and the credit card book?
Credit card?
Only personal loan book.
Only personal loan book, we don't have actually the problem. We have around 18,000-19,000 crores is there. Out of that, 6,000-7,000 crores is unsecured educational loan. The remaining 13,000 crores is loans to salaried class and the pensioners who draw their salaries and pensions towards through Canara Bank only. We don't give the personal loans to non-customers or the customers who are not salaried class and who are not drawing the salary through our bank. That's why we don't have any apprehension on that, and our credit card is only 1,100-1,200. That is the outstanding.
What would be the NPA ratio in the PL as of now?
PL or NPA ratio is even less than 1%, sir. 0.49 or 0.50, it is there.
Okay. Perfect, sir. Thank you.
We have a next question from the line of Mr. Kunsh. Mr. Kunsh, please unmute yourself. We have a next question from the line of Mr. Ashok Ajmera.
Hello Ashok ji.
For giving the opportunity again. Though a lot of questions have been asked and the answers were given for many things have already been clarified. But sir, I just would like to know a little color on our total overall investment book. And now with these change valuation norms, it is becoming difficult to get more of the investment income from the investment into the and directly in the P&L account other than what goes into the interest income. Having said that, as per the gain which has gone to the reserve, INR 1,748 crore has gone to General Reserve. And AFS gain of INR 404 crore also has gone to AFS Reserve and not in P&L. So I just wanted to have one small data point.
Had it been a gain which would have gone to P&L, for this quarter, how much out of this gain is belonging to this quarter gain, which has gone to the General Reserve and which has gone to AFS Reserve?
Sir, that says.
Then we have to send him separately.
Sir, that INR 1,700 crore, what you said has happened in the beginning of the year. That when it was shifted, that is on 1st April. That is in 1st quarter. And this INR 400 crore also has happened during the course of the year.
So we can provide you that figure also.
But that's not a very big figure, sir.
Okay. Bifurcation, you can send it to.
That's 400.
Okay, sir. Now coming to the analysis, like on the treasury front, with these two rate cuts are expected, I think 50 basis points or maybe even more. Going forward, can you give some color from the treasury gain which are going to be very handsome gain, as everybody is predicting? So on that, the trading gain, I mean, any kind of gain or profit which will come to P&L from our treasury book, what is the estimates or can you give some idea on that?
No, last March, it was around INR 3,610. We can have an estimate of somewhere around INR 4,000 crore for these type of trading gains.
Okay. Because you have a very your AFS book is also INR 56,000 crore and HTM also INR 3,000 crore and must be having a very frequent trading gains also. So altogether, you are expecting a gain of about INR 4,000 crore in the FY26.
FY25, FY26, we are estimating that, of course. It depends on many factors, as you are all aware, so our conservative estimate is that only.
Sir, the estimate, what you said, this is expected to be better. But as you know, HTM now, I cannot trade freely.
We are restricted to 4,000 only.
We can shift. We cannot shift.
We cannot shift.
Only once in a year we can shift. That last year, what we have shifted, that is the only shifting that we can do, and the rest is 5%. So that free trade, that immediate what you are telling in the past, that bond rate falling means there is a change we can trade, that is no longer there, but having said that, there definitely will be an increase in the AFS portfolio, which we expected to gain, and we are building our books accordingly. But given the volatility that happens and it is still there, it is difficult what you want to hear, that quantification is a problem. We don't want to quantify what we want to say. What we have achieved last year, there definitely will be an upside to that.
No, sir. Point well taken, sir. Sir, one data point only. Our investment has a small investment of INR 1,577 crore. We have a next question from the line of Mr. Ashlesh talking. So please unmute yourself.
Sir, congratulations on very good numbers.
Sir, a first question.
Sir, a first question.
Sir, a first question. How would we stabilize CASA on an upper trajectory from the aspiration what we have?
Sir, first, you will see from the December quarter, quarter on quarter, there is an appreciation in the CASA.
No, no, I see.
No, no. Even the second, second, then the CASA, when you compare to March and this, the March 2024, it is 32 point something, 29 something is there. Now it is 31.17 or something is there, one basis point. That is 100 basis points we lost last. That is not lost that actually the growth momentum what is there in the total business or the term deposits is more than 10%. But the CASA, that is the same thing, the 10% growth is not happening. But definitely, I am sure that you will agree with that. We are not lost as the other peer banks are lost that much. Almost every bank has lost 300 to 400 basis points in the CASA. But we are not lost that actually we are able to maintain the above 30% with all our initiatives, whether it is products or processes.
We are the first bank we introduced n number of targeting the aiming the life cycle of individual. We have created new products. These products are giving us a lot of comfort to that. We continue to work on that CASA. Even today or the next financial year, I can openly say that for us, the most priority is CASA. We'll keep continuing that. But in the given circumstances, growing in the CASA at the rate with the other market parameters are growing, definitely it's a difficult task, sir. The reason behind is the payment systems are matured. People are matured. Everybody is using the technology and most of the transactions are happening on the mobile app. Under such circumstances, they can do banking 24 hours on 365 days.
I don't think that the people will keep in the savings or the current deposits too much amounts beyond their minimum requirement. Under such circumstances, you can only attract from other bank customers with innovative products and all. That's what we are doing, and nurturing of existing customers also, we have come out with one new innovative product. That is also Kendra Canara. The product that is also is giving some good results. These are all the efforts we continue, and in addition to that, last two years, we have opened almost 500 new branches. This year also, we are opening 250 more branches. These 750 branches we are targeted. We have opened whatever the opened and whatever going to open these branches, we are locating by using the market trends and the AI and machine learning tools we are using, especially data analytics, we are using effectively.
We are PIN code-wise. We have the database where the CASA potential is there. That potential, looking at the potential, we are planning to open the branches. These entire 750 branches, we are opening like that only. So that will also help us in maintaining or improving a little bit. Not so much, we cannot assure you that we will steeply we will grow in this. But we can continue that. We don't want to lose the market what we have.
Sir, I agree with your numbers on quarter-on-quarter and CASA both. I have read the numbers. What I feel that aspiration with so much digital spend which you have done, so many new products have initiated, management is making so much effort. I suppose the entire effort of last two-three years and digitization starts paying off can drive a much higher outcome. That's the only question I have. My thinking is that.
Yes, sir. Definitely, it has benefited the Canara Bank much higher than the industry, whatever the initiatives we have taken. But the only thing, whatever the initiatives we taken, unfortunately, the regime is high interest rate regime. Now the tendency has started that rate cuts are coming from the regulator. So slowly, we expect that in next one year, the rate competition deposit rate also will cool down. Once that cool down, our efforts will give much more benefits. Whatever the efforts we have done in the investment in the technology or the product, the better results we can see in the coming years. That's what I'm telling, sir.
Sir, current year, what would be our digital spend? And second thing, when we have a super abnormal profit in treasury this year, how do we intend to balance that treasury profit with what kind of other assets? Will we buy more corporate bonds which are lucrative? Or how would we work on that aspect?
Mukherjee sir will answer you, sir.
Actually, in this year also, we have tried to increase our Non-SLR book. So, and book profits by transaction in that book. This year also, we will try to repeat whatever we did because our Non-SLR book historically has been very low. So that will be our strategy as well as last year, we could churn our investment in mutual funds and earn profit. This year also, market supporting, we will try to do that. So whatever extra profits we earn by way of treasury income will be invested in these two portfolios. And we will try to. And also in the equity market.
Sir, the digital spend number, if you can elaborate, what are we likely to spend?
Sir, around INR 800 crore, sir.
Sir, thank you and all the best for the year to come.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Ashlesh ji.
Thank you, sir.
That was the last question for the day.
Thank you.