PNB reports Q4 loss of Rs 5,370 crore

NEW DELHI: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 5,367.14 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, on account of higher provisioning for bad loans.This is the biggest quarterly loss in Indian bank history. PNB had posted a net profit of Rs 306.56 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.Total income during the quarter decreased 1.33 per cent to Rs 13,276.19 crore from Rs 13,455.65 crore a year ago.Provisioning for NPAs grew almost threefold to Rs 10,485.23 crore in the fourth quarter compared with Rs 3,834.19 crore in the previous fiscal.As far as asset quality concerned, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 12.90 per at the end of March, from 6.55 per cent a year ago. Net NPAs too jumped to 8.61 per cent as against 4.06 per cent.For the full fiscal, the lender reported a net loss of Rs 3,974.39 crore compared with a net profit of Rs 3,061.58 crore in corresponding last fiscal.Total income during the year rose to Rs 54,301.37 crore as against Rs 52,206.09 crore in the previous fiscal.Indian banks have seen a surge in bad loans after a clean up ordered by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI wanted banks to classify some troubled accounts as non-performing and make adequate provisions for those over the December and March quarters.PNB's shares were trading 0.34 per cent higher at Rs 74.05 on BSE.