Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Punjab National Bank Q1 FY 2027 earnings conference call hosted by Elara Securities Private Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Ms. Palak Shah from Elara Securities Private Limited. Thank you. Over to you, ma'am.
Hello everyone. Welcome to Q1 FY 2027 earnings conference call of Punjab National Bank. Today we have with us the management of the bank headed by Mr. Ashok Chandra, MD and CEO, Mr. Paramasivam, Executive Director, Mr. D. Surendran, Executive Director, and Mr. Amit Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director. With this introduction, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Sunil Kumar Goyal, Chief General Manager, Strategic Management and Economic Advisory division, post which the MD sir will address the conference. Thank you. Over to you, sir.
Good afternoon. I am reading out the disclaimer. The statements made during this meet may contain forward-looking statements apart from historical information. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Punjab National Bank undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the present date. Thank you. Now I am handing over to our MD sir for opening remarks.
Good afternoon. We have started the financial year on a strong note, building on the momentum of the last few years. Our performance this quarter reflects balanced and sustainable growth across all key parameters: business expansion, asset quality, profitability, operational efficiency, and customer service. We remain firmly on track to achieve the guidance and strategic priorities for financial year 26/27.
Our growth strategy continues to be driven by the retail, agriculture, and MSME segments. We are expanding our customer franchise through focused acquisition, digital-first delivery, and a calibrated expansion of our branch network. During the year, we plan to open 250 new branches with a special focus on strengthening our presence in the southern and western regions. Technology and digital transformation remain at the heart of our growth strategy. We continue to invest in digital capabilities, automation, and analytics to enhance customer experience, improve productivity, and build a scalable future-ready banking franchise. Our asset quality continues to strengthen, supported by disciplined underwriting, robust monitoring, and focused recovery efforts. At the same time, our emphasis on business quality and operational efficiency has translated into steady growth in both operating profit and net profit. With this brief overview, let me now take you through the bank's performance for the quarter.
First, I will touch upon the business growth. The quarter ended June 2026 marked another period of consistent financial performance, driven by balanced growth and sustained strategic momentum. Our gross global business reached INR 29.98 lakh crore, making a healthy 10.2% YOY growth. Our advances grew by 12.7% YOY to INR 12.73 lakh crore, despite a INR 22,411 crore low-yielding IBPC exposure, largely from the retail portfolio. Excluding the impact of the IBPC book, core advances recorded a strong 15.4% YOY growth, underscoring sustained credit demand and healthy business momentum. Our core RAM book has witnessed decent growth, with retail book, excluding IBPC, growing at 17.5%. MSME is growing at 19.8%, and Agri priority sector at 16.4%. Credit growth momentum is expected to remain strong, backed by a robust sanction pipeline.
The bank sanctioned more than INR 95,500 crore of credit facilities during this financial year of this particular quarter, and a total of INR 1.38 lakh crore is pending for disbursement. Global deposits of the bank have reached INR 17.25 lakh crore, up 8.5% on a YOY basis. Our CASA strategy is centered on deepening individual saving account balance, which grew by 9.3% YOY, reflecting steady customer acquisition and stronger customer engagement. The credit deposit ratio increased to 73.8%. It still provides adequate balance sheet flexibility to support credit expansion while allowing the bank to remain selective in raising higher cost deposits. Now I will touch on the profitability part. Improving profitability remains a key management priority. Profitability is a core agenda item in all our business review meetings with field functionaries and has been incorporated into their performance evaluation framework.
In the previous meet, I informed that we will see QoQ improvement in the margins in FY 26/27. We have started to witness the same. Our global NIM which was 2.47% last quarter , it has gone to 2.64%. The domestic NIM was 2.61% in the Q4, which has moved to 2.64%. The global NIM was 2.47% in the Q4, which has gone to 2.50%. I am confident to witness healthy QoQ improvement in margins in the coming quarters and achieving our guidance for the financial year 26/27. Our NII, which was negative in previous financial year, has also turned positive in the Q1 and has remained at INR 10,798 crore with sequential growth of 4%. Operating profits of the bank is also increasing on a sequential basis.
Operating profits for the Q1 of this year is INR 7,519 crore, as against the INR 7,081 crore of Q1 of last year, witnessing a growth rate of 6.2%. Our core operating profit, excluding recovery from written-off accounts and treasury gains, have witnessed a YOY growth of 35.7%. Net profit of the bank for Q1 stands at INR 5,253 crore. Now I will touch upon the efficiency ratio. Our return on asset is consistently above 1% and is at 1.04% in Q1 of this financial year. Our return on equity stands at 17.33%. EPS is INR 4.57, not annualized for this quarter. Our tangible book value per share as on 30th June 2026 is INR 108.58, which has significantly improved from the level of INR 92.64 as on 30th June 2025.
We are quite mindful of improving our cost-to-income ratio, the same has reduced to 50.31% in Q1 of this year, as against 55.31% in Q1 of last year. Asset quality continues to strengthen with gross NPA declining to 2.78% as on 30th June 2026 from the level of 3.78%. 100 basis point decline is there. Net NPA improving to 0.28% as on 30th June from the level of 0.38% as on 30th June 2025. 10 basis point improvement is there in the net NPA also. This reflects our disciplined credit and recovery framework and keeps us well on track to achieve our financial year 26/27 guidance for both gross NPA and net NPA. As of now, we have not seen any material impact of geopolitical tensions on the bank's asset quality.
Our slippages remain contained, SMA accounts are stable, the overall credit portfolio continues to perform well. Our PCR stands at 97.23% as on 30th June 2026, which is well above our guidance of more than 96% for financial year 2027. Total fresh slippages during the Q1 of 2027 was INR 2,080 crore as against INR 1,886 crore in Q1 of FY 2026. Our guidance for slippages ratio was to remain below 0.9% in FY 2027, we are well within our guidance level as slippages ratio for this year is 0.68%. Total recovery stood at INR 2,789 crore for Q1 of this year, our recovery is 1.34x of the slippages in Q1 of this year, reflecting our commitment towards improving asset quality. We have made additional floating provision of INR 390 crore on prudential basis in Q1 of this year, making our total floating provision at INR 2,435 crore.
There is consistent improvement in the SMA book, overall SMA stands at 2.9% of the overall loan book. I will highlight the asset quality and underwriting standard. In fact, from the 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2026, that is a six-year period, we have sanctioned around INR 14.74 lakh crore loans, out of which we have disbursed around INR 12.92 lakh crore loans. The outstanding in these loans is INR 8.94 lakh crore, which is close to 70% of our total outstanding loan book. The NPA in this book is hardly INR 5,486 crore, which is only 0.42% of the disbursed amount under fresh underwriting, which is for the last six years. This speaks about the credit underwriting standard of our bank. I will highlight the capital structure.
Our capital adequacy is 18.13% as on 30th June 2026, compared to 17.50% as on 30th June 2025 against the regulatory requirement of 11.50%. Our CET1 capital stands at 14.52% against the regulatory requirement of 8%. Tier 1 capital stands at 16.03% against the regulatory requirement of 9.5%, Tier 2 capital stands at 2.10% as at 30th June 2026. More than 86% of the total externally rated advance above INR 25 crore are above A rated and more than 52% are AAA rated, which reflects our balance sheet strength from risk point of view. Bank is doing lot of activities on the digital front, digital banking continues to be a strong growth driver for the bank. After crossing the milestone of INR 1 lakh crore in cumulative digital loan sanctions earlier this year, we are on track to add another INR 1 lakh crore during the current financial year.
In Q1 alone, our digital credit sanctions are more than INR 19,000 crore. This growth is being powered by innovative solutions such as Digi Lakshmi Yojna, PM SVANidhi Scheme, and our newly launched emergency credit line, helping us expand credit access and improve customer convenience. Digital adoption is accelerating rapidly. While every third loan was sanctioned digitally in the last quarter of the previous year, today, every second loan is being sanctioned through the digital channel. On the transaction side, over 95% of the customer transactions are now digital. We are also actively supporting the RBI and government initiatives on CBDC and other digital public infrastructure projects, reinforcing our commitment to India's digital transformation journey. Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key growth and transformation driver for the bank. We have already deployed AI-powered solutions across customer service, employee productivity, learning, and credit processes, delivering tangible business benefits.
Going forward, we are scaling AI and machine learning across operations, analytics, risk management, and decision-making. With a strong focus on responsible AI governance and regulatory compliance, we believe AI will be a key differentiator in making our bank more resilient, efficient, and customer-centric. PNB is taking early steps towards becoming quantum-ready. We have deployed quantum safe encryption in customer-facing applications and developing quantum-based banking use cases such as mule account detection. This reflects our commitment to staying ahead in quantum safe banking environment and innovation. Bank is doing very well under the human resources front and strengthening the employees' engagement. The bank has partnered with 29 professors of practice and four premier institutions, ISB Hyderabad, MDI Gurgaon, IPE Hyderabad, and UNext Learning by Manipal Academy, to strengthen capability building through specialized training, research, and future-ready learning.
The bank has introduced AR and VR-based training models available in eight languages to deliver immersive learning and strengthen workforce capability through technology-enabled training. In partnership with Microsoft, the bank has launched an AI training and certification program for all officers to build future-ready digital capabilities. My concluding remark, the bank is strengthening its core franchise by expanding its CASA base and accelerating growth in retail, agriculture, MSME portfolio, laying the foundation for sustainable growth, stronger margins, and improved operational efficiency. Our disciplined risk management approach, supported by prudent underwriting, controlled slippages, and focused recoveries, continues to strengthen asset quality, while digital and workforce transformation are enhancing productivity and customer experience. Credit cards, cash management services, and supply chain finance continue to emerge as key growth engines, delivering strong business momentum and supporting diversification of our revenue streams.
With a strong balance sheet, disciplined execution, and multiple growth drivers in place, the bank remains well-positioned to deliver consistent and sustainable value creation. Thank you very much, and I am open for any question, clarification related with the performance of our bank.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Mahrukh Adajania from Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Congratulations.
Thank you.
Sir, I have a couple of questions. Yes, sir. I have a couple of questions. Firstly, in terms of margins, I know you gave your guidance and outlook, but how sustainable are these? Because we are seeing margin expansion at state-owned banks, and we are seeing margin contraction in quite a few private banks. How sustainable are these margins? Do you think you can hold these margins? What are the pressures of positive triggers going ahead for margins? Also in terms of growth, while you've done well on NII, your growth is slightly lower than other PSUs. What is the plan here in terms of catch-up and in terms of focus areas? Sir, these are my two questions. Then also if you could talk a bit about your target of FCNR deposit mobilization and whether you are already seeing good demand or not.
First, I will touch the margin part. If you recall our interaction in the last quarter where I had mentioned that almost all the higher deposit repricings are likely to be completed by May, that has already happened now. The bank is also mindful of the higher cost deposits, that is the reason we are absolutely not there in the bulk deposit market and the CD market. Very consciously, we have kept the deposit growth at 8.5%. This has contributed in the cost of deposit, and 34 basis point improvement has happened in the cost of deposit if you compare the YOY. We are going to continue this strategy because since beginning, I am talking about the profitability and re-jigging of the balance sheet, we are doing it. Like I am talking about the low yielding IBPC, which the bank was holding it.
We have started diluting those things. Despite diluting INR 22,000 crore IBPC YOY, still we are having a growth of more than 10% in the credit overall. This is going to continue. Whatever the low yielding corporate advances are there, that also we have sold to the tune of around INR 34,000 crore-INR 35,000 crore in the first quarter of this year. With that, we are still able to maintain a growth in the credit and that too, the growth in the NII and the NIM. This strategy is going to continue till we are coming out of all these low yielding advances. You will see the improvement in the NII and the NIM in every quarter now onwards. That is the first point which I wanted to address to you. Second point related with this itself is the growth.
Growth, if you see, I will give you some numbers. The retail growth, if I exclude the IBPC, which I am mindful of reducing it wherever the low yielding IBPCs are there. If I exclude from the retail part, we have grown at 17.5% in the core retail. MSME, we have grown at more than 20%. Agri sector, in the priority sector, we have grown at 16.4%. Corporate loan book also has grown at 10%. It is only because there are some rebalancing we are doing in the loan book. We are seeing the overall loan book is growing at around 12.5%. Otherwise, bank is absolutely vying for the good growth with profitability. Profitability is a topmost parameter we have kept ourselves, and within that, whatever business generation is likely to happen, we will do the business.
Coming to the FCNR part, I think it is appropriate time this RBI has announced, this has brought down the deposit rate in the market and overall mobilization, which the bank has already announced that we are going to mobilize $2.5 billion under this route. Already $425 million we have mobilized till yesterday. We are seeing a good traction. Whatever the commitment which we have given and we have set the target for ourselves, that is the $2.5 billion through the FCNR route, we are going to mobilize that. To that extent, I think our cost of deposit will also come because you are aware that whatever mobilization we are doing, it will not go for the CRR and SLR. That exemption is also there. Finally, the cost of deposit will come down in the long run.
Okay, sir. Thank you very much and all the best. Thank you.
Thank you, madam.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jai Mundhra from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good afternoon. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, you mentioned in your opening remarks that SMA 2 at the bank level is around 2.9%, right?
Yeah.
Can you also share SMA 1 number, sir, at the bank level?
Yes. SMA 1 is INR 7,942 crore. Percentage-wise, it is.
SMA 0, sir, would be how much, sir?
SMA 0 is 1.59%, SMA 1 is 0.64%, and SMA 2 is 0.75%. All put together, it is 2.9%.
Okay. Sure. Sir, now, last time when we had spoken on ECL, I think the final guidelines have come and you would have had chance to have a thorough look on the ECL. What is your assessment on the transitional provisioning requirement under ECL, one-time, and then if you can talk about the recurring impact because-
Yeah
you may have to provide on the non-funded exposure, et cetera.
The final digital calculations are on way now, last time also I had indicated that in the month of October, through the digital route, we will be able to figure it out. Rough calculation, which the bank has done, last time also we had indicated, as in today also, we are in the same range, around INR 9,500 crore to INR 10,000 crore. That is a one-time exercise the bank has to do. I think going forward also, we have seen around 10 to 12 basis point impact will be there on quarter-to-quarter basis.
Okay, sure. Sir, on IBPC, if I look at-
Yeah
This quarter presentation, they will still have around INR 28,000 crore of IBPC, right?
Correct.
Do you think this will run down over the next one, two quarters or the rundown could be slightly gradual? I mean?
No. In fact, now fortunately, around 80% of that is at a very good price. See why IBPC we had reduced it because of the low yielding side.
Right.
Now, almost we have cleaned. There are around INR 7,000 crore-INR 8,000 crore still it is at a lower rate, and that is getting matured in this quarter. We will be totally out from that. Final outspending for another 90 days or 120 days will be around INR 16,000 crore-INR 17,000 crore. That is at a good price that is matching with our requirement.
Right. No more IBPC drag will be there, right? After this quarter, after you, let us say, remove INR 10,000 crore.
Right.
Okay. That is good. Sir, on FCNRB, you mentioned that you have raised already $400 million. You are also offering leverage product, right? How does this work and what is the blended, let's say, leverage that you may be offering?
No, we are offering the leverage also, but we have not exercised the leverage as of now in a bigger way. Most of these things are coming without leverage. I think out of $425 million, around $200 million. $200 million has come through the leverage side. Otherwise, all the core deposits under the FCNR are coming in. We have the leverage product and we are working on that.
Okay. Sir, my last question from my side is, sir, what has happened to this IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power? I thought we had excess provisioning there, we had resolved. Has you accounted everything or what is going to happen there?
No, we are still holding it around INR 1,000 crore. Provision, still we are holding it. That is the kitty we have now, positive side.
Okay. What stops you from not accounting?
We will use this. In this financial year, we will use this. Maybe in Q2 or Q3, we will use that fund.
Do you need any approval from any auditor or RBI to use that, or that is your discretion kind of a thing?
No. All the approvals are in place now. Nothing, no challenge now. We can do that. All the approvals are there now.
Okay. All right. Thank you, sir, and all the very best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nitin Aggarwal from Motilal Oswal. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on the good number, sir. Sir, I have two questions. One is on the year provision, that extra provision that you're making every quarter. What is the overall approach that you're looking at? By when do you look to complete this provisioning requirement? Any, say, timeline that you're looking at in terms of coming up to the total number?
Shall I answer now or you have any other?
Yeah. Okay. I'll go ahead to the second also, sir. Second question is around the OpEx growth. Now, for us, OpEx growth this quarter is at a decline and we used to incur a high PSLC cost. Where it has come down and by when do you think we will be able to completely plug this gap and in fact, go on to earn PSLC income? How are you seeing that trajectory, and therefore overall, how are you looking at the cost-income ratio? Because that has been one of the drag on our ROA versus other banks.
Yeah. All the three things I will answer you. First is the floating provision which the bank is keeping it. This quarter, we have kept INR 390 crore, and thereby the total floating provision is INR 2,435 crore. We will be doing it in every quarter of this financial year, and anyway, from the next financial year, 1st April onwards, I think ECL has to be implemented. In a true way, all this floating provision which is there, I think that will be used for the migration purpose now. Thereby, what rough estimation which we have done around 10 to 12 basis point on a running basis, the credit cost will be there on account of the ECL migration. This is all about the ECL transformation. Bank is totally poised to have one-time migration also. That decision we'll take at the appropriate time.
We have enough cushion in the capital front, I think there is no challenge as far as the ECL implementation is concerned. Second part is PSLC. I think last year, if you remember in every con call, I was touching upon this point, that PNB has a large presence having 10,300 branches and most of these branches are in the agri sector. A lot of activities we have started, coming out the agri outreach activities, self-help group outreach activity, and all those efforts have yielded good result. Field has responded very well, and the ultimate result is that last year in the first quarter, we had incurred INR 893 crore, almost INR 900 crore to purchase the PSLC, and this year that amount is only INR 360 crore.
With this activity which the bank is doing it, I think next year we don't require the PSLC and internally we have set a target at least INR 5,000 crore-INR 10,000 crore we should be the seller in the market. With the activity which the bank is doing it, with the agri gold loan, which was very subdued in our bank, that is growing at 100% now. That gives a lot of cushion for us to use that PSLC for all those gap purpose and also for the selling purpose if we have enough in the next financial year. I will give you the number. Last year on the gold loan, our total exposure was INR 15,694 crore in the June 2025. Today we have INR 31,818 crore, almost INR 32,000 crore. 103% growth is there. What was happening, we had only 3,000 branches, they were doing the gold loan.
Now with the RBI, the policy is in place, guidelines are there. There is a full clarity is there on the gold loan front now. Thereby, another 3,400 branches we have added this year in the gold loan banking, and we have provided all the infrastructure and everything. We are expecting that around INR 59,000 crore-INR 60,000 crore, our portfolio should be there by end of this financial year. That will help us in reaching the PSLC as well as if any surplus will be there, I think we will be able to sell it. Definitely next year, we don't require the purchasing of the PSLC.
Okay, sir. Sir any. Sorry.
Your third part was the operating profit and the operational cost.
Yes. Cost income, yes.
See, the cost to income ratio, every quarter there is a reduction. From 55% last year in the same period, we have brought it down to 50% now. All those, the activity which the bank is doing it, especially the PSLC which the bank was purchasing it, I think all these things are going to help in reducing the cost to income ratio. We are setting a goal that we should be, I think, 47%-48% by end of this financial year.
Right, sir. That will be very good to see. Thank you so much for answering all the questions.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sushil Choksey from Indus Equity Advisors. Please go ahead.
Sir, congratulations to PNB team for a very stable and a good outlook. My first question is, what is your outlook on treasury as yields are hovering around 675, you are estimating good amount in FCNRB. Second is your written off book, what kind of recovery are we likely to see? Third is, what is our digital spend to enhance bank's capability in the current year? Hello? Hello?
Please hold the line, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, please stay connected while we check the connection for management. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for patiently holding. We have management reconnected. Over to you, ma'am.
Sir, congratulations to team PNB for excellent result and a stable outlook. Sir, my three questions are, what is our treasury outlook? What is our digital spend likely for the bank enhancement of capability this year? Third is in our written off book and technical written off book, what is the recovery estimate for the current year?
First is our treasury outlook. We are expecting that every quarter, around INR 900 crore to INR 1,000 crore, we should be able to earn from the treasury side. This is the outlook which we are giving you now. This quarter also, around INR 1,100 crore, we have got the income from the treasury side. Next is the digital spend. In fact, last year, we had taken the board approval of INR 3,500 crore and we utilized around 82%-84% of that amount for our various IT and digital activities. This year also, our total budget for the financial year is around INR 3,400 crore and we are augmenting our data center. We have come out with a new data center in Gurgaon. Very high-tech data center has come out. Then we are also working on the AI, GenAI, and the quantum technology, which I have mentioned in my opening remarks also.
Lot of activities, lot of thrust we are giving for improvement of the customer service, product improvement, and the employee engagement through this digital initiative. We have come out with the AI-powered customer chatbot, which we call it as a PIHU. You can go to our Punjab National Bank website, you can interact with the PIHU for anything related with the product, services, ATM network, branch network, which is related with Punjab National Bank, PIHU will provide you and guide you. We have also come out with AI-enabled employee engagement. That chatbot is Arahi. Sitting across the counter, our employee can chat with Arahi and provide the instant solution, instant guidelines to the customer now. Suppose any customer walks in and he wants to understand what is the housing loan scheme, what are the documents required.
The employee can just chat with Arahi and instantly he can provide the list of all those documents and list of guidelines. The third initiative which the bank has taken is a GenAI-based tools for credit note generation, and we are extensively using it for CRM tool now. Lead generation, sales, marketing, we are extensively started using that GenAI. Quantum technology, in fact, we are one of the leading banks and first bank in the country who has deployed quantum safe encryption. Customer-facing application and developing quantum-based banking use cases such as new account detection. 86 of our applications, which is the customer-facing, we have already deployed the quantum check now, and that has been certified by NIST, a U.S.-based organization. The bank is doing a lot of activities on these areas. The third point was-
PWA recovery.
PWO recovery. PWO recovery, in fact, last year when I had given the guidance, first of all, the total recovery guidance we have given for the INR 13,000 crore. Total recovery will happen through that route now. Within that INR 13,000 crore, INR 4,000 crore we are expecting that will happen through the PWA route now.
Sir, any outlook on all the three subsidiaries, MetLife, PNB Gilts, and PNB Housing, what are we doing? Are we enhancing our stake or any business outlook which you are seeing as a promoter?
Yeah. Stake enhancement, we are not going to do that. Of course, we are constantly reviewing their performance and giving a very clear direction because value maximization of the subsidiary is one of our agenda items. You have seen that PNB Housing, the new MD has come and lot of activities which have started in that organization. Similarly, PNB MetLife, their performance has also improved now, and PNB Gilts also, they are doing very well. Time to time, our interventions are there, and we are reviewing their performance. Our people are already there on their board now so that we understand that where they are now and what is the support they require from the parent organization. We are committed for the value maximization of our subsidiaries.
Thank you for answering all my questions and good luck for the year.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ashlesh Sonje from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good afternoon. Sir, firstly, if I look at the processing fee for the quarter, that has grown very well by 30% YOY to almost INR 1,000 crores in this quarter. Sir, what is driving this growth? That's my first question. Secondly, sir, you mentioned about shedding some low-yielding corporate advances of about INR 35,000 crores in this quarter. If you can just explain what do you mean by low-yielding advances. Is there some threshold that you are looking at? What has happened eventually to these borrowers? Have they availed new loans from you at a higher rate, or they have gone to another bank, or have they gone to the bond market?
Processing fee, last year during the same period was INR 728 crore, and this year, the same period, it is INR 938 crore. That is around 27% growth is there. When we are growing in the corporate loan book, last year, INR 4 lakh crore of corporate loan book was sanctioned. Wherever the sanctions are there or the NPAs are there, I think we make income by way of processing fee. It is only because of the growth which is happening, overall credit, and especially in the corporate loan book, we are getting the good processing fee. Secondly, the low-yielding advances, what we classify is around 7% below. That is the benchmark we have created, that whatever the advances are there below 7%, I think in a time-bound manner, we should shed it. We are in a position to decrease it and replenish it with the high-yielding advances.
With all those things, we are able to grow at 10%, despite around INR 40,000 crore low-yielding advances we have shed in the first quarter of this year now.
Understood, sir. Sir, the growth in processing fee, coming back to that, do you think your ability to charge fees on these loans has improved over the past few quarters?
Yes, it has improved. What we are doing is, we have improved the turnaround time, we are very mindful, and we have fixed up the accountability in the team now that the moment any proposal is sourced, let us have the decision immediately, yes or no, let us decide. That is one area bank has done very well. We have created a tool for that. The TAT tool is there, where any proposal that gets emanated at any level, that has to be entered there because that gives you the reference number. When the account gets opened in the system in the CBS, that reference number has to be used. I think we are very guided way.
We are monitoring the turnaround time. I feel that if the decision-making process is good and if we improve that performance, I think pricing becomes a secondary thing right now.
Understood, sir. Sir, the other question on low-yielding corporate advances. I was trying to ask is, what has happened to those borrowers? Have they come back to you at a higher price, or they have gone somewhere else?
No. Many of those people that has been repriced, we are able to sustain them. There are some INR 15,000 crore, INR 17,000 crore, we have lost it, we have not given the rate which they were asking it, we have allowed to exit from the bank.
Understood, sir. Sir, a couple more questions, data keeping mostly. If you can share the AS 15 provision which you made during the quarter, if you can also share the quantum of bulk term deposits outstanding. One more clarification, sir. This INR 25 billion or INR 2,500 crore of floating provision which you have created, is it fair to understand that this is deductible against the INR 10,000 crore of one-time provision you require for ECL? Essentially your net ECL one-time provision would be INR 70 billion-INR 75 billion.
Correct. It will be. First of all, AS 15, this quarter we have made a provision of INR 490 crore. That as per the calculation which the actuary has done, based on that calculation it has done now.
From the bulk term deposit number, if you have handy.
Bulk deposit, I think we have 17%-18%. Percentage-wise I can give you. One minute, I will give you. One minute. Around 18%. Yeah, 18% it is.
Understood, sir. Perfect, sir. Thank you very much for answering all my questions.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shreejit Nair from 361 Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I just had a question. You mentioned that this quarter, PSLC income was lower compared to same time last year. Is that the right understanding?
No. PSLC, not income. In fact, bank used to purchase and continues to purchase from the market. In fact, we are the borrower. We are purchasing it from the market. Last year, our total operating cost which was spent on PSLC was INR 893 crore, almost INR 900 crore. This year it has been reduced to INR 360 crore.
Okay.
It is expensive of the bank.
Okay. That is the reason why other expenses is lower.
It has gone.
Right, on a Y-over-Y.
Yeah.
What is the reason for lower employee expense on a YOY basis?
Yeah, that is also because of the AS 15 provision, is INR 490 crore compared to earlier provision of more than INR 1,000 crore. Otherwise, the salary structure and everything is constant. Nothing changes.
Okay. Yeah. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vishal Biraia from Bandhan AMC. Please go ahead.
Hi. Two questions. The first one is on the monsoon side. In case we actually end up in a very bad state of monsoon for this current season, what do you think would be the potential impact for us? Thank you. I'll ask the second one next.
No, definitely that will be a big challenge on various aspect, not only in agri. Agri related income wherever it is there, I think that also will get affected. Let us see that how it pans out in another two months' time. Last year also we had seen that monsoon came little bit late in various parts of the country.
The person you are speaking with has put your call on hold. Please stay on the line. Sir, please go ahead.
Yeah. Last year also, we had seen that monsoon was little bit delayed. Let us see that another two months' time, the August and September, how it happens. Definitely if El Niño factor happens, I think there will be some challenges on the various aspects of the economy.
Okay. Sir, on the MSME side, could you elaborate as to what is driving this 20% growth in disbursements for us? In case something goes wrong, what portion of this could have benefit under the ECLGS scheme?
First of all, the underwriting standards have improved in the bank. We have also come out with the digital cash flow-based lending, which got integrated with the various outside network. Based on that, the assessment happens, and we are giving the loan now. That has brought lot of optics in the MSME segment. We know that this is one particular segment where the rough estimate done by the SIDBI, it says around INR 25 lakh crore to INR 27 lakh crore credit gap is there in this MSME space. There is enough room for every institution to grow in this particular sector. With our digital initiative and very good outreach activity bank is doing it, massive outreach program in every quarter, 200 centers are being conducted for this. The MD, ED, CG, MG, everybody from the head office also participates.
All those activities and the digital process have given a very good impact. Last year, throughout the year, the growth was more than 20%, and this year also the growth is more than 20%. We are expecting that we will be touching a growth of around 25% in the MSME segment. Book is behaving very well. Absolutely, there is no challenge in the stress or in the NPA.
For us, what will be the mix between secured and unsecured within MSME?
No. Most of these loans are through the CGTMSE coverage now. That is the best route to do it, because you have around 75% coverage now.
Got it. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Aman Singh from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. I have three questions. Firstly, on ECLGS, if you can highlight the amount of disbursement under the scheme. Second, starting this quarter, there is risk-based pricing in DICGC premium. What is the savings for us and which bucket are we falling in? Third, if you can highlight the LCR for the quarter.
First, I will give you the ECLGS. We have eligible amount is INR 20,000 crore and we have sanctioned INR 15,856 crore out of applications received for INR 20,000 crore. INR 20,000 is the eligible, INR 20,000 crore is the applications received, sanctioned is INR 15,830 crore, disbursement is INR 12,335 crore. Through the DICGC fee and the restructuring which has happened, we are able to save around INR 200 crore.
We will be in the A bucket, right?
Yeah.
All right. If you can highlight the LCR for the quarter.
One minute.
Sir, no. Actually, the point is, we cannot disclose the rating as such. The point is, savings are as discussed. By disclosing this, you will be able to backward work out that rating which we cannot disclose.
Got it. If you can highlight the LCR for the quarter.
Yeah. What do you want, sir?
Sir, LCR number for the quarter.
LCR number. Yeah. It is 135% was there, the quarter-to-quarter also, last quarter-
The person you are speaking with has put your call on hold. Yes, sir. Please go ahead.
Yeah, last quarter also it was-
Sir, I will request you not to place the call on hold to avoid disturbance in the call. Please go ahead, sir.
Last quarter also it was 136%.
Okay, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pinaki Banerjee from AUM Capital Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, of your corporate loan book of about INR 5.15 lakh crore, could you just segregate it sector-wise, like how much is your exposure to steel, cement or infrastructure sector like this?
Yeah. I will give you. Last. Infrastructure it is 9%.
Okay.
Energy it is 4%.
Okay.
Metal and metal products 1.8%.
Okay.
Roads and port it is 4%.
Okay.
Food processing 2%.
Okay.
Iron and steel around 2%.
Okay.
That's it. Yeah.
Okay, sir. Sir, next question. Actually, could you just quantify the personal loan portfolio and how much is the segregation between the salaried and the non-salaried class?
No. We don't give personal loan to any non-salaried people. That is the first thing we follow here. Yeah.
Okay.
Our personal loan outstanding is INR 23,500 crore.
Okay.
It's entirely the salary-backed loan now.
Okay. Sir, considering the fact that we are hearing that the IT sector is going through some amount of turmoil because of this AI-related thing. Has there been any slowdown in your disbursement to any IT employees or something like that?
No.
Okay.
No. We are not facing any challenge.
Okay, sir. That's all from my end. Thanks and all the best for the future.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Company. Please go ahead. Mr. Kapoor, please go ahead with your question. Your line is unmuted. Mr. Kapoor, may we request you to kindly unmute yourself and proceed ahead with your question. As there is no response, we'll move ahead with the next question, which is from the line of Ankit Bansal from AB India Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hello.
Yeah.
Yes, sir. Sir, my question, this quarter-on-quarter profitability remains same, around INR 5,200 crore. What's the reason sir provisions are being less, why the profitability has not increased quarter-on-quarter?
See, we have kept the floating provision of INR 390 crore. See, whenever we are in good time, I think we are mindful of providing for the future. We know that from 1st April, we are going to have the ECL implementation. We are augmenting ourselves now itself so that there should not be any challenge at the time of implementation. This quarter also, INR 390 crore provision we have kept for ECL. That is one of the reasons why you see the muted profit quarter-to-quarter. Absolutely, I think profit is on track and INR 5,000 crore plus we are putting up the profit every quarter. There is no fluctuation there in the profit. I think you should appreciate that. If you put the graph.
Sir.
I think every quarter, even now. Yeah.
Okay. Sir, do you think this is a good idea as no other bank is doing like you are doing for ECL provision? This is hampering your share price, sir. Retailers are not able to communicate with the bank. Every quarter you are doing this, no other bank is doing this. They are making the ECL provisions just as a one-off at the end of FY 2027. You are doing quarter-on-quarterly, that is hampering the confidence of the investor, sir. Do you think this is a good strategy to just do it like this?
It is a very, very prudent decision of the management. See, at any point of time, bank has to take a hit on the balance sheet. You are aware of that. 1st April 2027, if somebody is not doing it, they will have to provide that. At that point of time, somebody has to take the entire hit. If I have the cushion, I am providing it so that in future there should not be any surprises. See, we are very mindful that our operating profits has to grow continuously, net profit should grow continuously, and our efficiency ratio consistently should improve. If all those things are happening, if I have some surplus, I am keeping it for that, and that activity will happen till 31st of March only, because anyway from 1st April it will get implemented.
Okay.
After that, you don't require such type of provision because ECL will be in place then.
Okay, sir. Sir, what's the guidance for net NPA and gross NPAs for the whole year?
Gross NPA, our guidance is less than 2.5%. Net NPA, it is 0.3%. Already net NPA is below 0.3%. It is already we are at 0.28%.
Okay.
Gross NPA also, last year it was 3.78%. We have brought it down to 2.78% in the first quarter itself. We are, all parameter-wise, if you see the guidance which we have given, we are on track.
Okay, sir. Any stress in which sector you are seeing any starting stress? I have in your presentation, see energy is doing good, infrastructure. Sir, some pain in textile, chemicals, and steel is being there. It is the early signs. Can you please just for my guidance.
As of now, we are not seeing any stress, and that is the reason you see our SMA book is one of the lowest in the few years now. 2.90% is the SMA book now for all put together. SMA 012 and from INR 1 to crores of rupees, this is the total outstanding now. I think that exhibits that we are on a absolutely right track.
Okay, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to management for closing comments.
First of all, my sincere gratitude to all my analysts and all my investors for reposing faith in our bank. We assure you on behalf of the entire management of our bank that on a consistent basis, we will improve our performance, we will show a good growth, and we will show a good asset quality. I think overall, every quarter you will find that growth, profitability, and improvement in the asset quality will happen. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Elara Securities Private Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.