NIM for the period stood at 6.2 per cent, registering a 16 basis points decline y-o-y.
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Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Tuesday reported around 35 per cent y-o-y growth in its net profit, amounting to ₹501.67 crore for the first quarter this fiscal, backed by a 40.5 per cent reduction in provisions during the period.The lender had posted a net profit of ₹371.96 crore for the first quarter last fiscal. It witnessed an 18.59 per cent y-o-y fall in operating profit to ₹1,358.10 crore for Q1FY27 due to a sharp rise in operating expenses. Operating expenses rose by around 19 per cent y-o-y , driven by an increase in employee cost owing to the new labour codes, and the West Asia crisis led to an increase in prices of many tech products, especially the inventory.During the first quarter this fiscal, the bank’s net interest income (NII) rose 5.92 per cent y-o-y at ₹2,920.58 crore from ₹2,757.24 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal. Non-interest income, however, witnessed a fall of 16.81 per cent y-o-y at ₹603.83 crore.Provisions and contingencies during the period under review fell to ₹682.59 crore from ₹1,146.91 crore a year ago, backed by around 26 per cent y-o-y drop in gross non-performing assets (NPA) in absolute terms at ₹4,880.95 crore compared to ₹6,622.64 crore in the first quarter last fiscal.Net interest margin (NIM) for the period stood at 6.2 per cent, registering a 16 basis points decline y-o-y.Better resilienceDuring a media conference call, Bandhan Bank MD & CEO Partha Pratim Sengupta said the quarter was marked by a continued focus on balance sheet quality, business resilience, and execution. “Traditionally, the first quarter has been the softest quarter for our business, characterized by seasonal moderation in growth and pressure on asset quality metrics. However, in Q1FY27 we demonstrated significantly better resilience compared to the same period of the previous year,” Sengupta said.During the first quarter of this financial year, the bank’s EEB (erstwhile microfinance segment) book witnessed a marginal decline compared to the same period last year. Overall, gross advances grew 16 per cent y-o-y, while deposits rose 7 per cent y-o-y.“Today, the saving pattern of the domestic household has changed. We are finding a gradual shift from keeping the money just parked in deposits to rather parking in various other instruments, including bonds and the capital market. So that tendency is there. Obviously, all banks are facing some challenges in garnering deposits. So, we have to find alternate ways to fund the credit needs and one of them is definitely borrowing,” the MD said, adding that the bank has also kept open the securitisation route to bridge the gap in credit and deposit growth going ahead.The bank has so far garnered around ₹30 crore from the FCNR (B) deposit mobilisation scheme. “We have just started the product. We expect that we can garner much more in the coming two months,” Sengupta said.The bank’s asset quality improved as, during Q1FY27 fresh slippages came down to around ₹630 crore from around ₹1230 crore in Q1FY26. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio fell 181 basis points to 3.15 per cent, while net NPA ratio declined 57 bps at 0.93 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal.Published on July 21, 2026
