According to Mint reports, Punjab National Bank (PNB) managing director and CEO Ashok Chandra emphasized that India's state-run banks have emerged significantly stronger after a decade of balance-sheet clean-up and reforms, but staying agile in an increasingly uncertain global environment will be their biggest challenge. Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the conflict in West Asia, PNB has not seen any stress in its loan portfolio and expects credit growth to exceed 13% in fiscal year 2027 (FY27). As reported by Mint, Chandra noted that India's macroeconomic resilience continues to support banking sector growth, with India's GDP growth of 7.8% in the fourth quarter reflecting the resilience of the Indian economy.
As reported by Mint, PNB expects credit growth of 12-13% in FY27, with the bank already reporting 12.7% credit growth in the first quarter (April-June 2026). The country's third-largest bank has guided for deposit growth of 9-10%, a conscious strategy according to Chandra, as the bank's credit-deposit ratio remains around 72-73%, providing sufficient room to support loan growth without chasing deposits aggressively. According to Mint, Chandra stated that if credit demand accelerates and the credit-deposit ratio reaches around 77-78%, the bank can revisit its deposit mobilisation strategy. PNB's capital adequacy ratio improved to 18.13% as of June 30, 2026, compared to 17.5% at the end of the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, well above the regulatory requirement of 11.5%. As reported by PTI, Chandra confirmed that the bank will not be raising funds from the market to drive growth as it is well capitalized.
According to The Hindu BusinessLine and Business Standard, PNB has no immediate plans to monetise its subsidiaries, with Chandra stating the bank will instead focus on strengthening their operations to unlock greater value in the future. The bank's subsidiaries including PNB MetLife India Insurance, PNB Housing Finance, and PNB Gilts are all well capitalised. Chandra emphasized that "We don't have any plan now. In fact, we are strengthening all these subsidiaries and we want to have value maximisation through strengthening those subsidiaries." The bank plans to retire ₹5,000 crore worth of AT 1 and Tier II bonds that are maturing this year, which will help save ₹300 crore as there would be no longer be interest outgo on these papers. Chandra expressed confidence that the bank's profit will surpass the ₹20,000 crore mark in the ongoing financial year, building on the ₹16,904 crore net profit earned in the previous financial year. As reported by PTI, Chandra noted that the bank has maintained a net profit of over ₹5,000 crore every quarter since the second quarter of the last financial year, with the same trend continuing in the first quarter of the current financial year.
According to Mint reports, MSME lending grew 19.8% in the first quarter after expanding by over 20% in FY26, while core retail lending is growing at 17-18%. Priority sector advances expanded 16.5%, and the corporate loan portfolio also registered growth of over 10%. PNB has set a ₹13,000 crore bad loan recovery target for FY27, including ₹4,000 crore from technically written-off accounts. During the first quarter, the bank recovered around ₹2,800 crore, including approximately ₹1,900 crore from technically written-off accounts, and remains on track to achieve its annual target. The bank is focusing heavily on mega outreach activities every quarter on a large scale and targeting retail, agri, MSME, and self-help groups for asset creation to achieve its growth targets.
