PNB reports Rs 5367 cr loss in Q4 as bad loans surge

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 12.9% in March from 8.47% in December

Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 5367 cr rupees as the nation's fourth-biggest state-run lender by assets set aside more funds to cover a jump in bad loans.

Provisions, including for loan losses, nearly tripled from a year earlier to 10485 cr rupees in the March quarter, the New Delhi-based lender said in a regulatory filing.

Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans rose to 12.9 per cent in March from 8.47 per cent in December, and 6.55 per cent a year earlier.

Indian banks have seen a surge in bad loans after a clean up ordered by their regulator, the Reserve Bank of India.The central bank wanted banks to classify some troubled accounts as non-performing and make adequate provisions for those over the December and March quarters.