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Punjab National Bank
The country's second-largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank (PNB), expects its credit card and cash management services verticals to generate around Rs 200 crore each in quarterly profit from the next financial year as it steps up its focus on digital businesses to boost fee-based income. The bank has created dedicated digital platforms for three key businesses -- credit cards, supply chain management and cash management services -- each headed by a general manager to drive growth, PNB Managing Director and CEO Ashok Chandra told PTI in an interview. The initiatives are aimed at strengthening the bank's non-interest income amid anticipated challenges in treasury earnings and loan recoveries, he said. Chandra said PNB's credit card business, which started in 2008, had a base of around 6.04 lakh cards till March 2025. Following the rollout of its digital platform, the bank added another 5 lakh cards over the subsequent nine months, taking the total base to around 11 ...
Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday assured customers that all genuine claims will be honoured and already settled three claims amounting to Rs 43 lakh in connection with alleged financial irregularities involving certain customer fixed and savings bank (SB) deposit accounts at the Greater Noida branch. A day after the incident was reported, PNB in a statement said the bank has taken serious cognisance of the complaints and is examining the matter on priority. "Three claims amounting to Rs 43 lakh had been settled as of yesterday. The Bank assures its customers that all genuine claims will be honoured," the statement said. The statement said it was extending full cooperation to the authorities concerned and taking necessary steps to verify the facts, assess the extent of the reported discrepancies and address the concerns of affected customers. PNB said it follows a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud, financial irregularities and misconduct, adding that stern action would be ta
Punjab National Bank (PNB) aims to bring its cost-to-income ratio below 50 per cent in the current financial year and further reduce it to around 45 per cent by 2028-29, said Ashok Chandra, MD and CEO of the country's second-biggest lender. The bank's cost-to-income ratio stood at 50.38 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year, down from 53.3 per cent in September 2025, as it focuses on rationalising expenses and maximising profitability, he told PTI in an interview. "We are aiming to go below 50 per cent this financial year. That is the first target we have set for ourselves. In the next two years, by 2028-29, we should be somewhere around 45 per cent," he said. Chandra said the bank was working on two key areas -- rationalisation of expenses and maximisation of profits-- while sensitising its various units about the importance of improving operational efficiency. Every review meeting of the bank now focuses on the cost of deposits, yield on advances, fee-based income
State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) has cautioned its customers about AI-enabled cyberattacks, especially AI voice cloning, deepfakes, and phishing, amid surging incidents of fraud, and has advised them to remain vigilant. Highlighting that October is observed as National Cyber Security Awareness Month every year, the bank informed customers that fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to make their attempts more convincing. "Many cyber frauds today exploit human behaviour, particularly trust, fear, urgency and everyday digital habits. Fraudsters may imitate the voice or appearance of your family members, friends, or trusted persons and create a false emergency to seek an urgent transfer of money," PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said in his message to customers. Similarly, fraudulent emails, SMS or messages may appear highly personalised and like genuine bank communications, making them more difficult to identify, he said, adding that they create panic and make ...
To enhance its non-interest income, Punjab National Bank is planning to roll out wealth management services by December, the bank's managing director and CEO Ashok Chandra said. "The first stage of our wealth management strategy is to ensure that the bank has Customer Relationship Managers (CRMs) in place. Six months ago, we deployed around 1,700 CRMs across 1,700 branches. Their primary KRA (key responsibility area) is to manage and take care of approximately 250 to 300 top customers in each branch," he told PTI in an interview. The public sector lender is now planning to deploy another 1,300 CRMs and by end of this month. It would deploy them in another identified 1,300 branches. "That was the first step we undertook. We have also started engaging with consultants for our wealth management initiative. Very shortly, we expect to initiate the RFP process to appoint a partner for wealth management services. "I believe that within the next three to four months, our wealth management
With its capital adequacy ratio exceeding 18 per cent, Punjab National Bank has no immediate plans to monetise its subsidiaries, the bank's Managing Director and CEO Ashok Chandra said, adding that the lender will instead focus on strengthening their operations to unlock greater value in the future. PNB's capital adequacy improved to 18.13 per cent as on June 30, 2026, compared to 17.5 per cent at the end of the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. This is well above the regulatory requirement of 11.5 per cent. As the bank is well capitalised, the bank will not be raising any fund from the market to drive growth, Chandra told PTI in an interview. In fact this year, the bank will retire Rs 5,000 crore AT 1 and Tier II bonds, which are getting matured, he said, adding that this will help save Rs 300 crore as there would no longer be interest outgo on these papers. About monetisation of subsidaries or associates, Chandra said, "We don't have any plan now. In fact, we are ...
Priti Patel, the British Indian minister who signed off on Nirav Modi's extradition order to India as home secretary in April 2021 after a prima facie case was established in court, has said she is "appalled and horrified" that he is still in the UK. Patel, shadow foreign secretary on the Conservative Opposition benches, told 'The Daily Telegraph' podcast in an episode to be released next week that the Indian authorities were "hugely angry" over Britain's failure to extradite the jeweller wanted for one of the country's biggest banking frauds. 'The Diamond King' four-part podcast series traces the newspaper's discovery of the fugitive diamond merchant hiding out in a luxury London flat leading to his eventual arrest by Scotland Yard in March 2019. "If our system were judicious and doing the right thing, rather than tying itself up in process and excuses, he should not be in this country," Patel is quoted as saying. "I'm actually pretty appalled and horrified that he's still here, a
Enthused by the consistent financial performance of the last four quarters, Punjab National Bank MD and CEO Ashok Chandra exuded confidence that the bank's profit would surpass the Rs 20,000 crore mark this financial year. The public sector lender had earned a net profit of Rs 16,904 crore in the previous financial year. From the second quarter of last financial year, the bank has been maintaining a net profit of over Rs 5,000 crore every quarter, Chandra told PTI in an interview. "We have maintained the same trend in the first quarter (ongoing financial year). And I am hopeful and confident that with the profitable growth, which is happening in the system....we will be surpassing the Rs 5,000 crore number and every quarter will be reaching a new height," he said. Asked if the bank can cross the Rs 20,000 crore mark during FY27 at this run rate, he said, "If I am telling that every quarter Rs 5,000 crore of net profit will happen, I think that goes to that figure which you are talk