BoI back in black on better asset quality; Q1 net at Rs 88 cr

State-run Bank of India (BoI) swung back into profit in the first quarter ended June 30, reporting a net of Rs 88 crore today on improvement in asset quality and lower provisioning.
The lender had reported a net loss of Rs 741 crore in the same period last year.
"We focused on better recoveries, upgradation and prevention of slippages during the quarter and it helped us. We expect to show better results in the coming quarters as well," BoI managing director and CEO Dinabandhu Mohapatra told reporters here.
Recovery in the quarter improved to Rs 1,360 crore from Rs 970 crore in the year-ago period.

Upgradation stood at Rs 1,379 crore in Q1 as compared to Rs 2,209 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 1,071 crore in the March 2017 quarter.
Gross non-performing assets of the bank improved to 13.05 per cent from 13.38 per cent. Net NPAs were at 6.70 per cent as against 7.78 per cent a year ago.

"Barring some unpleasant surprises from outside we will definitely be improving (in terms of NPAs) quarter-on- quarter," Mohapatra said.
The PSU bank was able to contain its fresh slippages at Rs 4,037 crore from Rs 6,233 crore last year.
Of the 12 large stressed accounts which the RBI has asked banks to refer to the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for resolution, the bank has an exposure to 10 accounts for Rs 8,200 crore.

"In most of these 10 accounts, we have already made a provision of 60 per cent. In some of the accounts, we have provided 100 per cent," Mohapatra said.
Total stressed assets (GNPA + restructured standard assets), as percentage of global gross advances, declined to 16.03 per cent from 16.47 per cent last year.
In the quarter under review, the bank did not sell any NPAs to asset reconstruction companies, but has identified some accounts which it may look at selling to ARCs in the current quarter.
Provisions fell to Rs 2,246 crore from Rs 2,770 crore in the year-ago period.

The provision coverage ratio improved to 63.54 per cent from 53.06 per cent last year.
Net interest margins declined to 1.99 per cent from 2.20 per cent.
Global business stood at Rs 9,34,796 crore as against Rs 8,85,573 crore.
CASA deposits grew by 25.2 per cent year-on-year and its share in domestic deposits improved to 39.12 per cent from 35.33 per cent a year ago.
Gross advances grew 0.90 per cent to Rs 3,91,062 crore.
The bank is targeting a credit and deposit growth of 8-10 per cent in the fiscal 2017-18.
In the current financial year, the bank is planning to seek Rs 2,500 crore capital from the government, Mohapatra said.

The bank's scrip ended at Rs 158.45, up 3.77 per cent on the BSE, whose benchmark index Sensex dropped 0.68 per cent to settle at 31,797.84.