Corporation Bank Q3 net up 16%

Public sector lender Corporation Bank on Monday reported 16.19 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 147.21 crore for the third quarter ended December 2014, on account of lower provisioning. The bank had reported net profit of Rs 126.69 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The bank’s total income went up 5.29 per cent to Rs 5,209.54 crore compared with Rs 4,947.34 crore a year ago, Corporation Bank said in a filing to the BSE.

However, the operating profit declined by 2.28 per cent to Rs 726.54 crore compared with Rs 743.54 crore.

Net Interest Income (NII), or the difference between the interest earned on loans and the interest paid on deposits, stood at Rs 1,029 crore in the fiscal third quarter, up 2.73 per cent from Rs 1,001.60 crore  a year ago.

The public sector lender’s other income declined by 3.04 per cent to Rs 328.27 crore compared with Rs 338 crore. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio stood at 4.88 per cent on December 31, higher than 3.08 per cent reported in the same period last year. Net NPAs ratio stood at 3.27 per cent in the October-December,  higher than the 2.15 per cent in the same period last year.

Corporation Bank Chairman and Managing Director S R Bansal said that Corporation Bank is the first bank to achieve the target in Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana. Around 16.03 lakh accounts were opened and Rs 230.75 crore balance was mobilised. There are only 33 per cent zero balance accounts, which is minimum compared with other banks. Under the scheme, 15.10 lakh RuPay debit cards have been issued.

The CASA (Current And Savings Account) deposits remained at Rs 35,144 crore and its share to the total deposit was 18.72 per cent. The bank opened 75 ATMs during the quarter across the country and now the network has reached  2,821, and 4,874 branchless units.