PNB posts ₹16,904 crore FY26 net profit; Q4 profit up 14%, bad loans decline – Indian PSU
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) reported a net profit of ₹16,904 crore for FY26, marking a year-on-year growth of 1.6%, while net profit for the March quarter rose 14.4% to ₹5,225 crore from ₹4,567 crore in Q4 FY25.
The public sector lender’s operating profit stood at ₹29,290 crore in FY26, up 9.2% year-on-year. In Q4 alone, operating profit increased 10.7% to ₹7,500 crore, reflecting steady improvement in core earnings.
PNB also posted a sharp improvement in asset quality. Gross NPA ratio declined to 2.95% as on March 31, 2026 from 3.95% a year ago, while Net NPA ratio improved to 0.29% from 0.40%. In absolute terms, gross bad loans fell by ₹6,958 crore to ₹37,124 crore.
The bank’s global business rose 10.7% year-on-year to ₹29.70 lakh crore, driven by healthy growth in both deposits and advances. Global deposits increased 9.2% to ₹17.11 lakh crore, while global advances grew 12.7% to ₹12.59 lakh crore.
Retail, Agriculture and MSME segments remained the key growth drivers. Retail credit rose 8.3%, agriculture advances grew 10.7%, and MSME advances jumped 19.9% during the year.
On the profitability front, Return on Assets improved to 1.06% in Q4 FY26, while book value per share rose 11% to ₹114.77. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio also strengthened to 17.74%, giving it strong room for future expansion.
PNB reported major gains in digital banking as well. PNB One users increased to 260 lakh, WhatsApp Banking users rose to 109 lakh, and digital transactions accounted for over 95% of total transactions in Q4 FY26.
As on March 31, 2026, PNB had 10,324 domestic branches, 11,065 ATMs and 33,314 banking correspondents, taking its total touch points to 54,703 across the country.
The FY26 numbers indicate sustained improvement in profitability, asset quality, credit growth and digital banking for one of India’s largest public sector banks.
