EXIM Bank profit rises two-fold in FY23, revenue rises 37% to Rs 11,488 cr

Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India on Friday reported a two-fold jump in its FY23 net profit to Rs 1,556 crore and said its operations have had minimal direct impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The policy bank is aiming for a loan book expansion in the 12-15 per cent range in FY24, and will be raising USD 4 billion from the market to support the same, its managing director Harsha Bangari told reporters.

The bank is also keen to start factoring services from the GIFT City, and will be launching a subsidiary at the international financial services centre for the same purpose later this fiscal, Bangari said.

For FY23, it reported a 37 per cent growth in its total income to Rs 11,488 crore and a 14 per cent growth in net loan assets to Rs 1.34 lakh crore.

The net interest margins (NIMs) widened to 2.3 per cent as against 2.19 per cent in the year-ago period, and Bangari said it will maintain the same number at above 2 per cent, making it clear that chasing interest income is not the priority for the lender.

On the asset quality front, a Rs 3,200-crore exposure to an account in the African nation of Ghana impacted its performance, taking the overall gross non-performing assets ratio to 4.09 per cent.

Bangari added that if one were to exclude the Ghana account which has been impacted by external conditions in the country, the GNPA would have been 0.33 per cent.

Bangari said a Rs 1,500-crore budgetary commitment on capital infusion could not materialize, but the bank is comfortable with an overall capital adequacy of over 25 per cent. The need for an infusion will arise only when the buffers dip to 20 per cent levels, she added.

With the Russia-Ukraine war dominating the headlines for the entire fiscal year, Bangari said EXIM Bank had no direct impact because of the war, but added that there was some indirect impact as the overall world economy slowed down as a result of the crisis.

As India's prominence grows on the world stage which has seen more Indian companies going global, the lender is witnessing greater traction for what it calls as the commercial business, as against the policy business where it works in close alignment with the foreign policy, Bangari said, adding that the NIMs are higher in the commercial business.

In FY23, it borrowed USD 3.47 billion from the markets in foreign currency and over Rs 52,000 crore in domestic currency, Bangari said, adding that it is targeting to raise up to USD 4 billion in FY24.

When asked about China's play in the neighbourhood, Bangari said we cannot compare with the northern neighbour in its size and ability to finance but added that there are sufficient opportunities to fund projects.

At present, connectivity forms a bulk of the exposure on the letter of credit (LOC) front with a 36 per cent contribution, followed by power at 25 per cent, Bangari said, adding that a thermal power project in Bangladesh is the bank's largest exposure at USD 1.68 billion.

With rupee trade settlement gaining traction, the bank is also looking to introduce a rupee finance window for the exporters, she said.