Indian private banks seem to have weathered the severe economic shocks inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, at least for now. Backed by a steady rise in net interest income (NII) and contraction in provisions, private banks posted 159 per cent growth (year-on-year) in net profit at Rs 18,814 crore in the second quarter (Q2) ended July-September 2020-21 (Q2FY21).
While the asset quality held up during Q2, the real picture is masked by the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) directive that accounts not declared non-performing assets (NPAs) as of August 31 should not be classified as such until further orders.
The NII in