At Rs 9.4 bn, PNB posts straight quarterly loss on fraud-related provisions

As a result of higher recovery, the bank's net NPA declined to 10.58% in Q1 from 11.24% in the previous quarter and gross NPA shrunk to 18.26% against 18.38% of its loans

Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 9.4 billion in the first quarter (April to June, or Q1) of the current financial year (2018-19, FY19). This was the second consecutive quarter in the red for the bank, reeling from a Rs 143-billion letters of undertaking fraud.

In the year-ago period, PNB had reported a net profit of Rs 3.4 billion, and a net loss of Rs 134 billion in the last quarter (January-March) of the previous financial year (2017-18).

A reason for losses coming down was the decrease in provisioning for the fraudulent loans issued