Supercharging Punjab National Bank's Outlook: CEO Ashok Chandra's Optimistic perspective for FY25
Achieving credits growth beyond our target for the present fiscal year, according to Ashok Chandra.
Rolling with the Puns: Punjab National Bank is gunning to dial down its Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) to beneath 3%, a milestone the bank hasn't reached since, well, ages, according to its MD & CEO Ashok Chandra. In a chat with our reporter, Ashok outlines the bank's game plan for the fiscal year 2024-25, including a beefed-up push in lending to the corporate and RAM (Retail, Agriculture, MSME) sectors.,
Tell me about your credit growth prognosis, and which sectors will be leading the charge?
Thanks to the RBI's chill pill, a pool of liquid cash, and tax goodies, we're anticipating some solid credit growth this year. We've already got a bulging pipeline of loan deals, with over ₹1 lakh crore approved for FY25, not to mention an additional ₹28,000 crore greenlit for the corporate sector in the current fiscal. In total, we've got a hefty ₹1.35 lakh crore stashed in our corporate loan war chest, doling it out in the coming months.,
Beyond corporate loans, we're going all-in on the RAM sector, where we're betting on up to 14-15% growth.
Our initial guesswork pointed to a 11-12% bump in credit growth. Now we think we're going to blow that number out of the water by the end of the fiscal year, powered by robust demand across key sectors.
Is there any buzz about Canara Bank's profit increase? What's the jist on deposit growth in the current fiscal year?
The RBI's master plan guarantees plenty of dough flowing in the banking scene. Thanks to shrinking deposit costs and tasty deals, the heat's off our deposit gathering efforts. Our bank’s been showing off stellar deposit growth, with a 14% surge in deposits and an equally impressive 13.6% growth in advances for the entire fiscal.,
With money easily available at rock-bottom rates, we don't see any major obstacles on the deposit growth front. But growing the CASA segment remains a hot ticket item.
To make it happen, we've rolled out a series of swanky deposit schemes exclusively for various customer types on April 12th, our special day. You know, customer-centric products like specialised deals for salaried cats, freelancers, ladies, young bucks, farmers, retirees, grandmas, and NRIs. Each of these offers tailor-made perks to draw in different demographics.
Since the launch, we've managed to snag 1,80,000 new customers, clocking in ₹300 crore in fresh CASA deposits. We foresee over a million new customers (and their dough) in the next six months, which should add ₹2,000-3,000 crore to our CASA deposits. With this strategy in motion, we're feeling pretty gung-ho about raking in strong deposit growth this fiscal year.
Any plans to tinker with Fixed Deposit or savings account rates?
Our savings account rates are on lockdown, mate. As for fixed deposits, we've crunched the numbers on certain segments and shaved a few slabs by 10-15 basis points. We've also given the axe to a special-ed FD scheme as part of this rethink.
But we're keeping a close eye on the market. We'll take another look at our fixed deposit rates by the second week of June, taking into account broader economic trends and competition.
Can you confirm you'll keep those asset improvements rolling in this fiscal year?
Yeah, no sweat. Assets, no worries, mate. We're aiming to fortify our asset quality even further. For FY26, we're setting some ambitious markers: bringing GNPA to below 3%, cutting net NPA to 0.35%, improving the provision coverage ratio to over 96%, and maintaining credit cost below 0.5%.
We're also gunning for total recoveries of ₹16,000 crore, with ₹6,000 crore coming from technical write-offs. Our quarterly recovery goal from this category is ₹1,500 crore. Nailing these objectives would mark a serious uptick in PNB's asset quality, with GNPA dipping below 3% for the first time in, like, ever.
Easing bond yields, yippee! What's the rundown on your treasury gains this year?
With bond yields softening, we're expecting a sizable boost in treasury earnings. We're projecting a 10% bounce in treasury cheers this fiscal, thanks to some favorable market conditions. The chill in bond yields has already led to some cool gains in recent quarters, and we're expecting this trend to continue.
What's the story on CBDC adoption?
Adoption of Central Bank Digital Currency has been tearing up the dance floor. At the moment, we've welcomed 4,29,000 users and facilitated nearly 6.3 million transactions. The response has been red-hot from our customers.
- The CEO of Punjab National Bank, Ashok Chandra, plans to strengthen the bank's position in the defi market by reducing its Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) to below 3%, a feat not achieved since ages.
- In the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25, Punjab National Bank plans to boost its credit growth, primarily through corporate and RAM (Retail, Agriculture, MSME) sector lending.
- The bank anticipates a substantial credit growth this year, with over ₹1 lakh crore approved for FY25 and an additional ₹28,000 crore earmarked for the corporate sector in the current fiscal.
- Punjab National Bank foresees up to 14-15% growth in the RAM sector and aims to exceed its initial credit growth projection for the fiscal year.
- The bank has rolled out a series of deposit schemes to attract various customer types and has already added 1,80,000 new customers and ₹300 crore in fresh CASA deposits since the launch.
- Despite keeping savings account rates steady, Punjab National Bank has made adjustments to its fixed deposit rates, with a few segments receiving a 10-15 basis points reduction.
- Punjab National Bank aims to maintain asset quality improvements by setting ambitious targets for FY26, including GNPA below 3%, net NPA of 0.35%, a provision coverage ratio over 96%, and credit cost below 0.5%. The bank also plans total recoveries of ₹16,000 crore, with ₹6,000 crore coming from technical write-offs.
