PNB eyes Rs 9.5 lakh cr business in 2014-15

Bank's deposits grew by 14.1% and advances by 13.1% last fiscal

Public sector lender Punjab National Bank today said it is eyeing total business size of Rs 9.5 lakh crore for 2014-15, up by 18% over business mix of last fiscal.

It further said the bank plans to expand by opening 500 new branches across the country in order to deepen its footprint.

"We are targeting total business size of Rs 9.5 lakh crore for 2014-15 as against business of about Rs 8 lakh crore achieved in last fiscal," PNB Executive Director Gauri Shankar told reporters here today.

In 2013-14, PNB had total deposits of Rs 4.5 lakh crore and advances to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

"Our deposits grew by 14.1% and advances by 13.1% last fiscal. This fiscal, we are expecting 15-18 growth in our total business," he said.

Asked about bank's expansion, Shankar said that the bank would open 500 new branches across the country.

"Last fiscal, we opened 341 new branches and in this fiscal, we have plans to open between 400 and 500 new branches," he said.

However, he said bank would not go for opening any overseas branch in 2014-15.

Acknowledging that rising Non-performing assets (NPA) were a concern, Shankar said that the bank would lay special emphasis on speeding up recovery this fiscal and would bring it down under 5%.

"Our gross NPA increased from 4.86% to 5.25% at present. In absolute terms, our NPA is Rs 18,500 crore as on March 31, 2014. We will make special efforts to reduce NPA level in current fiscal," he said.