Bank of Baroda Q3 net profit up 3.6%

Gross NPA rises to 3.32% compared to 2.41% in the year ago period

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BOB)’s net profit for the quarter ended December 2013 rose marginally by 3.6 per cent to Rs 1,048 crore against Rs 1,012 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, mainly on account of improvement in higher interest and fee income.

BOB’s net interest income (NII) for the quarter rose 7.61 per cent to Rs 3,057 crore from Rs 2,840 crore in October-December 2012. S S Mundra, chairman and managing director of BOB, said despite a lack-lustre credit demand and limited pricing power, the bank could grow net interest income (NII) on the back of efficient management of liabilities. Total deposits rose 21.5 per cent to Rs 5,03,772 crore in December 2013.

Bank of Baroda’s other incomes, comprising fees and commissions, rose 10.88 per cent to Rs 932 crore, up from Rs 840 crore in Q3 of 2012-13. Profit from exchange transactions, another component of other income, rose to Rs 260 crore from Rs 180 crore in Q3 of 2012-13.

Its loan book expanded by 17.8 per cent to Rs 3,52,446 crore, from 2013 from Rs 2,99,318 crore at December end, 2012. Mundra said the bank’s loan book would grow at about two-three per cent above the average industry growth.

<b>Central Bank of India</b>

Another Mumbai-based lender, the  Central Bank of India, reported a 66 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 61 crore in Q3 of FY14, from Rs 179 crore in the same quarter of FY13, on account of higher provisioning for bad loans.

Its domestic net interest margin (NIM) improved sequentially to 2.95 per cent for the quarter. It was 2.85 per cent in quarter ended September 2013.

NIM stood at 3.08 per cent in Q3 of 2012-13.

For Central Bank of India, gross and net non-performing assets, both in terms of absolute amount and percentage to advances, rose on an year-on-year basis.

Rajiv Rishi, chairman and managing director, Central Bank of India, said: “I think the worst is over for the bank, as our slippages have come down significantly. We have restricted fresh slippages to Rs 11 crore which used to be as high as Rs 2,000 crore few quarters back.”