Bank of India Q2 net dips 78.15%

BS 200 SCORECARD

Bank of India's net profit in the quarter ended September 30, 2004, plunged by 78.15 per cent to Rs 49.54 crore against Rs 226.76 crore. The dip in net profit was on account of transfer of government securities worth Rs 13,600 crore from available for sale to held to maturity category.

Along with the transfer, the bank had to carry out a Rs 383 crore provisioning for the depreciation in value of the securities as per the Reserve Bank of India scheme to protect investments from interest rate rises.

Total income in the current quarter also fell to Rs 1,781.74 crore against Rs 1,894.93 crore. Net interest income in the current quarter increased to Rs 595.7 crore (Rs 502.7 crore). Income from treasury operations fell to Rs 207.18 crore (Rs 331.70 crore).

At present, the bank holds government securities worth Rs 18,000 crore in the held to maturity category and securities worth Rs 5,000 crore in the available for sale category, said Bank of India chairman and managing director M Venugopalan.

The AFS portfolio mainly holds floating rates bonds and treasury bills which can take a interest rate shock of about one per cent, he added. Bank of India's net profit for the six month ended September 2004 dipped by 50.72 per cent to Rs 212.23 crore from Rs 430.68 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total income is down to Rs 3,465.40 crore against Rs 3,666.75 crore.