IDBI Bank posts Rs 135 cr profit in Q4 on account of bad loan recoveries

Turning the corner, IDBI Bank on Saturday posted a profit of Rs 135 crore for the March quarter on account of recoveries from bad loans.

The lender reported a profit after 13 straight quarters of net losses.

The bank, majority owned by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), had posted a net loss of Rs 4,918 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

Total income rose to Rs 6,925 crore as against Rs 6,616 in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

As a result of increased recovery from resolution of bad loans, there was write back of Rs 1,511 crore as against provision of Rs 7,233 crore in the same period last year.
 

The bank made COVID-19-related provisions of Rs 247 crore during the quarter against standard assets.

The gross non-performing assets ratio inched up to 27.53 per cent during the quarter as against 27.47 per cent, while net NPA came down sharply to 4.19 per cent as against 10.11 per cent earlier.

The bank raised Rs 745 crore through issue of Basel-III compliant tier-2 bonds in the March quarter. The amount mobilised would be counted as part of tier-2 capital and enhance the capital adequacy of the bank, it said.

Despite posting a profit in the fourth quarter, IDBI Bank logged a net loss of Rs 12,887 crore for 2019-20 as against a net loss of Rs 15,116 crore in FY19.
 

The net interest margin (NIM) for FY20 improved to 2.61 per cent as against 2.03 per cent in the previous fiscal.

In January 2019, LIC completed acquisition of 51 per cent controlling stake in the lender. The state-run life insurer infused Rs 21,624 crore into the bank.

The bank, which is under the Reserve Bank of India's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, said it has achieved all PCA parameters for exit except return on asset.