Public sector lender Corporation Bank has clocked a 21 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 351.73 crore for the September quarter on the back of a healthy rise in interest income.
The Mangalore-based bank's net profit stood at Rs 291.6 crore for the July-September period last fiscal.
"The prime reason for the growth in our profits has been the net interest income which moved up by 42.1 per cent to Rs 715.25 crore," the bank's Chairman and Managing Director Ramnath Pradeep told newsmen after announcing the results here today.
The bank's net interest margin also moved up by over 0.3 per cent to 2.64 per cent for Q2 as it was able to bring down the cost of deposits to 5.40 per cent from last year's 6.44 per cent.
Deposits grew 19.82 per cent in the reporting quarter while there was a 32.74 per cent rise in advances to Rs 52,568 crore. The bank is targeting a 20-22 per cent rise in deposits and a 35 per cent increase in credit by end-FY 11.
The cheaper CASA (current and savings account) deposits were 25 per cent of the total deposits and the bank plans to increase the same, Pradeep said, adding it is targeting to take it up to 30 per cent by end-FY 11 and to 35 per cent by FY 12.
Retail advances constitute only 25 per cent of the pie currently and the bank is looking to raise it by concentrating more on the vehicle and housing loan segments.
