State Bank Of Patiala Net Profit Declines On Stressed Assets, Staff Cost Rise

For the fiscal completed on March 31, State Bank of Patiala (SBoP) has registered a decline of 16% in its net profit, which remained at Rs 666.76 crore owing to stressed assets and increase in staff expenses.

Public sector lender had registered an increase in the net profit, which stood at Rs 796.45 crore during the same period of the last fiscal.

Bank’s gross and net non-performing assets (NPAs) remained up by 3.25% and 1.62% respectively during the period under review as against 2.94% and 1.35% during 2011-12, respectively, it added.

“Our complete non-performing asset remained at Rs 1,194 crore and our attempts will be to bring the net non-performing asset by 1% during this fiscal,” managing director Achal Kumar Gupta told media people.

“But, the default in loaning amounts was not industry segment specific, rather it was unit specific.”

“We have NPAs in businesses as well as agriculture,” he stated.

Though the banking institution’s employee per biz grew up to Rs 10.14 crore during the past fiscal, SBoP’s employee cost also surged up to Rs 959.49 crore during the period under review, up as against Rs 834.75 crore as on March 31, 2012, he added.

With SBoP having division potency of 1,121 crosswise the nation, it would launch 100 novel arms during this financial year.

The banking institution also stated that it would eye 20% increase in total biz of SBoP during 2013-14 with a concentration on growing lending to farming, retail and fast recovery of arrears.

“We have yet to firm up a plan for current fiscal but we will aim at 20 per cent growth both in deposits and advances,” Gupta said.

Overall deposits surged 11.70% at Rs 88,416 crore whilst advances mobilisation zoomed 17.65 per cent at Rs 75,460 crore in the last financial year, he said.

“It was our watchful plan of not being forceful in deposits (mobilisation) as we planned to cut down our cost of mass deposits that was higher during the last financial year,” Mr. Gupta added when asked why the deposits growth was lower in last financial year.

“Our concentration during existing fiscal year will be on increasing farm advances, retail advances and recovery of arrears,” he added.

Gupta further stated that SBoP’s main concern will also be to augment proportion of Casa (Current Account Saving Account), directed at lowering cost of deposits.

“We wish to lift up our Current Account Saving Account percentage from 25% as compared to 30% during this financial year,” he said.