Punjab & Sind Bank targets $100 mn foreign funding, ₹4-trillion business by FY29, says CEO

However, Saha said Punjab & Sind Bank's ability to mobilize FCNR(B) deposits is constrained by the absence of overseas branches. "Our only leverage will be the upcoming GIFT City branch," he said.

The lender expects its GIFT City branch to begin operations during the third quarter of FY27, after completing technology integration. RBI approvals, office space and staffing are already in place.

"We expect everything to be ready by September and inaugurate the branch in Q3. By then, the FCNR(B) window may have closed, but the branch will support our overseas borrowing business going forward," Saha said. He said the bank expects the GIFT City branch to generate nearly ₹10,000 crore of business in its first year, which could rise to around ₹25,000 crore over the next three years.

The New Delhi-headquartered public-sector lender has also drawn up an ambitious expansion roadmap. "Our board-approved plan is to achieve ₹4 trillion business by FY29. We plan to have more than 2,000 branches, around 1,600 ATMs and nearly 6,500 business correspondents, creating over 10,000 customer touchpoints across the country," Saha said.

Net profit up 23%

Punjab & Sind Bank reported total business of ₹2.66 trillion at the end of the June quarter of FY27, registering 15.27% year-on-year growth. Total deposits increased 12.16% to ₹1.47 trillion, while gross advances rose 19.35% to ₹1.19 trillion.

The bank posted a 23.05% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹331 crore during the quarter, while net interest income (NII) grew 15.33% to ₹1,038 crore. Operating profit stood at ₹545 crore.

Asset quality continued to improve, with the gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio declining to 2.21% from 3.34% a year earlier, and the net NPA ratio improving to 0.65% from 0.91%. The provision coverage ratio (PCR), including technical write-offs, strengthened to 92.33%, while the capital adequacy ratio remained comfortable at 17.61%.

Segment performance

The bank's strategic pivot towards RAM lending continued during the quarter. RAM advances grew 32.66% year-on-year to ₹71,596 crore, accounting for 60.02% of total advances. Retail advances rose 36.44%, agriculture loans increased 25.85%, while MSME advances grew 32.71%.

On deposits, Saha acknowledged that mobilising low-cost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits remained a challenge. CASA deposits grew 10.20% year-on-year to ₹44,225 crore, while the CASA ratio stood at 30.06% at the end of June.

On agriculture, Saha said the bank remains cautious but is not witnessing any significant stress. "Our agriculture portfolio accounts for around 13.38% of total advances. We have deployed dedicated monitoring teams from the head office for every branch. While we understand the ground-level challenges, quarterly slippages are not a red flag for us," he said. Agriculture gross NPAs declined to 7.54% from 9.59% a year ago, while fresh agriculture slippages during the quarter stood at ₹57 crore.

Saha acknowledged that housing and vehicle loan growth during the first quarter was below expectations despite strong market demand. "Housing and vehicle loans should have performed better. Staff transfers during the first quarter affected processing timelines. Housing loans typically take 10-15 days to process, so organisational changes had some impact. The structure has now stabilised and we have launched dedicated retail campaigns to improve growth," he said.

Home loans stood at ₹13,471 crore at the end of Q1FY27, largely unchanged from ₹13,469 crore in March 2026, while vehicle loans increased marginally to ₹4,058 crore from ₹4,008 crore.

Regarding raising capital, Saha said the bank has board approval to raise up to ₹3,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). "Following the declaration of results, we will assess market conditions along with our merchant bankers. Like the previous capital raise, we expect equity dilution of around 5-6%," he said.