New Delhi: Punjab National Bank will continue to focus on strategic areas such as Retail, Agriculture, MSME advances, as well as accelerating the Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) base to boost growth and profitability, the bank's MD and CEO Ashok Chandra has said.The banking sector remains well-positioned to drive credit expansion and seamlessly meet the market's evolving financing needs, backed by strong balance sheets and healthy capitalisation, Chandra said in a message to shareholders in its annual report released recently."The bank will also continue to focus on the strategic areas such as RAM advances, CASA Deposits, Digitalisation, Customer Service and Human Resources," he said.Read More: Reserve Bank of India issues final rules on credit derivativesAs of March 31, 2026, Retail, Agriculture, and MSME (RAM) advances increased to Rs 6.76 lakh crore, from Rs 6.03 lakh crore in the previous fiscal, reflecting a growth of 12 per cent.The RAM segment's contribution to domestic advances stood at 56.6 per cent at the end of March 2026.With regard to low-cost deposits, PNB's domestic CASA share was at 37 per cent as on March 31, 2026.Current account deposits of the bank stood at Rs 79,294 crore, while savings deposits were at Rs 5.30 lakh crore."The bank would continue to expand its footprint, and it will be our endeavour to continue providing convenience to the customers. Being the leading banking sector entity, the bank will contribute towards India's journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047," Chandra said.The country's second-biggest bank has a network of 10,324 branches.In addition to these strategic priorities, the bank is deeply committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity in all its operations, he said.Read More: Axis Bank aims to strike optimal balance between growth and margins: MDEmphasis will also be placed on integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into the bank's core business strategies, ensuring responsible growth and sustainable value creation for all stakeholders, he added. PTI