Bandhan Bank reports net loss of Rs 3,008 cr in Q2 on higher provisioning

Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Friday reported a huge loss of Rs 3,008.60 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, as the surge in bad loans led to a rise in provisioning.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 920 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Total income of the bank in July-September 2021-22, however, rose 6 per cent to Rs 2,427 crore, as against Rs 2,289.9 crore in the year-ago period, Bandhan Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The net interest income increased marginally by 0.6 per cent to Rs 1,935.40 crore, even as the non-interest income jumped 34 per cent to Rs 491.60 crore during the reported quarter.

The bank's provisions (other than taxes) rose multi-fold to Rs 5,577.9 crore in Q2 FY22 against Rs 379.6 crore in the year-ago quarter.

There was a dent in the lender's asset quality as the gross non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans) spiked to 10.8 per cent of the gross advances as of September 30, 2021, against 1.2 per cent a year ago.

Likewise, the net NPAs jumped to 3.04 per cent from 0.36 per cent.

"We have recognised the stress pool and proactively taken additional requisite provisions such as to meet any contingency requirements and to look forward to do business on a clean slate. This has resulted in a loss for the quarter," Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO of Bandhan Bank, said.

During the quarter, the bank has seen a substantial recovery in collections as the second wave of COVID subsided, he added.

"However, it will help us to concentrate on fresh business growth and to concentrate towards achieving our long term goals with renewed energy," Ghosh said.

Shares of Bandhan Bank closed 2.36 per cent down at Rs 291.50 apiece on BSE.