Stress in the agriculture sector is significant, says Punjab & Sind Bank MD

Punjab is an important area of operation for the bank, says S Harisankar

Until a few months back, Punjab & Sind Bank was seen as a possible merger candidate with one of the larger state-run banks. It has reduced losses significantly to Rs 30 crore in Q2FY20 from Rs 398 crore in Q2FY19 and gone about its business without capital infusion from the government. S Harisankar, the bank’s managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO), spoke to Namrata Acharya on its positioning and some of the imminent challenges it faces. Edited excerpts:

What has been the bank’s strategy to reduce losses?

In FY19, the bank didn’t get capital infusion from the government. We