Loss-making banks back to black but little to cheer

Pain and uncertainty will be a way of life for many banks in 2021. For a few, the light at the end of the tunnel has turned into a flicker

Three perennially loss-making banks have returned to the profit track. IDBI Bank Ltd, which carries the soul of a public sector bank (PSB) in a private bank’s body, recorded a net profit of Rs 139 crore in the March quarter of FY20. Indian Overseas Bank’s (IOB) net profit is even higher — Rs 144 crore. Kolkata-headquartered Uco Bank too came back to the black, albeit with a smaller profit of Rs 17 crore.

Why does this call for celebrations? For IOB, it’s profit after 18 quarters. It had been making losses since September 2015 when the Reserve Bank of India