S.S. Kohli, Chairman & Managing Director of Punjab National Bank, disclosed that the net profit of the bank for the first quarter of FY 2002-03 amounted to Rs. 202.15 crore as compared to Rs. 168.66 crore in the corresponding period last year, recording a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 19.9 per cent. Highlighting the performance of the bank on the basis of unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended June 2002, he elaborated that the Bank could achieve this level of net profit after making provision of Rs. 319.12 crore towards income tax, NPAs, standard assets, etc. as per RBI guidelines.

Gross Profit during the first quarter ended June 2002 was Rs. 521.27 crore compared to Rs. 394.08 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 32.3 per cent.

Kohli further added that the Total Income increased to Rs. 2,059 crore in the three months ended June 2002 from Rs. 1,837 crore in the three months ended June 2001, registering a growth of 12.1 per cent. Interest income amounted to Rs. 1,760 crore for the first quarter of FY 2002-03, registering a growth of 12.2 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Non-interest income increased to Rs. 300 crore in the first quarter ended June 2002 from Rs. 268 crore in the first quarter ended June 2001, registering a growth of 11.8 per cent.

Total expenditure increased to Rs. 1,538 crore in the first quarter ended June 2002 from Rs. 1.443 crore in the first quarter ended June 2001, recording an increase of 6.6 per cent.

Aggregate deposits of the bank at the end of June 2002 amounted to Rs. 63,987 crore as compared to Rs. 56,143 crore in June 2001, registering a growth of 14.0 per cent on y-o-y basis. As on 30.6.2002, low-cost deposits constituted 44.9 per cent of the aggregate deposits.

Net credit of the bank at the end of June 2002 stood at Rs. 35,381 crore as compared to Rs 28,904 crore in June 2001, registering a growth of 22.4 per cent on y-o-y basis. The bank continued its focus on enhancing lending in the retail sector especially in the traders and housing segments. In order to cater exclusively to the trading community, the Bank plans to open Trade Finance Branches. Further, the Bank will open exclusive consumer finance branches focusing on housing, cars, consumer finance, etc.

The Bank has the largest network of branches amongst nationalised banks with 3,862 branches at the end of June 2002.

Priority Sector credit at Rs 15,044 crore at the end of June 2002 was 44.0 per cent of net credit which was above the national goal of 40 per cent. Under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme, the Bank issued nearly 30,000 Krishi cards during April-June 2002.

The bank launched the ‘PNB International Credit Card’ in November 2000 in association with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) to gain a competitive edge and generate additional revenues. The Bank has issued 35,287 cards till June 30, 2002.

Total Forex turnover of the Bank during the period April-June 2002 increased to Rs. 5,344 crore as compared to Rs. 4,255 crore in the same period in the previous year, thus showing a growth of 25.6 per cent. As against this, Forex turnover of the country increased by 7.1 per cent during April-May 2002.

In its endeavour to become a universal bank, PNB is already undertaking precious metals business. After achieving a turnover of Rs. 2,515 crore in the gold import business and Rs. 28 crore in the silver import business during 2001-02, the Bank achieved a turnover of Rs. 139 crore in gold and Rs. 32 crore in silver during the first quarter of the current financial year. The Bank earned fee-based income of about Rs. 27 crore during this period.

Kohli further informed that the Bank with 2,535 computerised branches is capturing more than 81 per cent of the business. The bank has installed 172 ATMs out of which 78 have been connected to Switch. The ATM card base has also crossed the 2 lakh mark. Further, tele-banking facilities have been provided at 131 locations. Remote Access facility is being provided at 46 branches and will be extended to other branches also. Regarding Centralised Banking Solutions (CBS), an ambitious project of the Bank, it plans to cover 1,500-2,000 branches in the next three years. Kohli added that its implementation under Phase I is progressing well. Under this phase, 300 branches will be brought within its ambit by March 2003. The Bank has also taken various steps to further improve customer service. Besides computerisation of more branches, the Bank has implemented the "Citizens’ Charter" and has highlighted the details in various languages and made them available to customers free. The Bank has set up "toll-free" telephone lines in four major metros and an official has been assigned to handle the grievances of customers. Further, a "Chief Host" has been placed at each of the zonal offices to handle customer complaints efficiently and speedily.