Bank of India Q4 profit rises 19 pc; expects up to 12,000 cr loans under ECLGS scheme

State-owned Bank of India on Friday reported an 18.67 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,087.76 crore on the back of an uptick in core income and asset quality improvement.

State-owned Bank of India on Friday reported an 18.67 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 3,087.76 crore on the back of an uptick in core income and asset quality improvement. In the year-ago period, the net profit stood at Rs 2,601.98 crore. On a standalone basis, its net profit increased by 14.85 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,015.79 crore. The core net interest income increased by 11 per cent to Rs 6,730 crore in the reporting quarter from Rs 6,063 crore a year ago. Its net interest margin (NIM) improved marginally on a sequential basis to 2.58 per cent in Q4 FY26 from 2.57 per cent in Q3 FY26. However, on a yearly basis, margins have declined from 2.61 per cent. Rajneesh Karnatak, MD and CEO of Bank of India, guided global NIM in the range of 2.70-2.75 per cent in FY27 despite global headwinds, elevated deposit costs and inflation concerns. ''The bank plans to improve margins through higher CASA mobilisation, growth in RAM (retail, agri and MSME) loans, more MCLR-linked advances and better-performing corporate credit,'' Karnatak said during the post-earnings conference. Under the government's ECLGS 5.0 scheme, Karnatak expects loan demand of Rs 10,000-12,000 crore from MSME and non-MSME borrowers. The Union Cabinet has approved ECLGS 5.0 with an overall outlay of Rs 2.55 lakh crore to provide additional working capital support to businesses affected by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. On the proposed expected credit loss (ECL) framework, Karnatak said the transition impact would be manageable at around 0.5 percentage points annually on CRAR over a five-year period beginning April 2027. ''The total impact is estimated at 2.5 percentage points, while the bank's current CRAR stands at 18.01 per cent against the regulatory requirement of 11.5 per cent,'' he added. In the reporting quarter, global deposits of the bank grew 13.56 per cent to Rs 9.27 Lakh crore compared to Rs 8.17 lakh crore in the year-ago period. Domestic deposit grew 14.30 per cent year-on-year to Rs 8.01 lakh crore, followed by a 9.11 per cent rise in overseas deposit to Rs 1.27 lakh crore. Current-Saving account (CASA) deposits increased by 7.30 per cent, and the CASA ratio stood at 37.64 per cent as of March 31, 2026. Overseas advances registered a growth of 14.25 per cent and touched Rs 1.17 lakh crore. Retail advances increased by 21.19 per cent, MSME advances grew by 17.68 per cent, agriculture surged by 17.60 per cent and corporate advances by 12.08 per cent. RAM advances share increased to 58.74 per cent, according to the press release. Karnatak expects that bank loan growth will remain in the range of 15-16 per cent in FY27, which will be driven by retail, agriculture and MSME sectors. Gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio of the bank improved by 1.29 per cent to 1.98 per cent in the reporting quarter. Similarly, the net NPA ratio improved by 0.26 per cent to 0.56 per cent in Q4 FY26. In the reporting quarter, the provision coverage ratio of the lender improved by 1.18 per cent and stands at 93.57 per cent. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) stood at 18.01 per cent as of March 31, 2026. Shares of Bank of India ended 0.39 per cent down at Rs 139.75 on BSE, while the benchmark corrected 0.66 per cent.