PNB Q2 Results October 16, 2026: Profit Up 12.8% to ₹5,532 Crore as Gross NPA Falls to 2.55%

PNB Q2 results, released after market hours on October 16, 2026, were a good-news quarter for the state-run lender. Punjab National Bank’s net profit rose 12.8% year-on-year to ₹5,532 crore for the September quarter, bad loans came down, and margins inched up from the June quarter. The numbers are in a press release filed with BSE, so the stock only reacts when trading resumes on Monday. For the broader picture, see our stock market today India hub.

PNB Q2 results: what the bank reported

These figures are for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (Q2 FY27), from the bank’s press release. Growth rates compare with Q2 FY26 unless we say otherwise.

• Net profit: ₹5,532 crore, up 12.8% from ₹4,904 crore.
• Net interest income (NII): ₹11,601 crore, up 10.8%. NII is the gap between interest earned on loans and interest paid on deposits.
• Operating profit: ₹7,532 crore, up 4.2%.
• Global net interest margin: 2.58%, up from 2.50% in the June quarter.
• Return on assets: 1.05%, the same as a year earlier.
• Fee-based income: ₹1,954 crore, up 16.0% from ₹1,685 crore.

Smaller provisions, bigger profit

Why did profit grow so much faster than operating profit? Mostly because the bank set aside far less for bad loans. CNBC-TV18 reported that provisions fell to ₹97.27 crore from ₹541 crore in the June quarter. That made up for a weaker other income line. Take total income of ₹38,185 crore, subtract total interest income of ₹34,585 crore, and you get ₹3,600 crore of other income, which CNBC-TV18 said was down about 17% from ₹4,342 crore a year earlier.

Cleaner books, faster loan growth

The gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio improved to 2.55% from 3.45% a year earlier, and net NPA fell to 0.25% from 0.36%. In rupees, gross NPAs dropped by ₹6,153 crore to ₹34,190 crore. The provision coverage ratio, including technical write-offs, rose to 97.32%, and the capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) improved to 17.95% from 17.19%.

The soft spot was fresh bad loans. The slippage ratio was 0.77% in Q2 FY27 against 0.71% a year earlier, and CNBC-TV18 reported fresh slippages rising to ₹2,395 crore from ₹2,080 crore in the June quarter.

On the balance sheet, global advances grew 14.7% to ₹13,41,194 crore and global deposits grew 9.9% to ₹17,77,240 crore, so the credit-deposit ratio moved up to 75.5% from 72.3%. MSME advances rose 19.8%, agriculture priority-sector advances 18.1%, and retail advances (excluding inter-bank participation certificates) 16.3%. The CASA share, meaning the slice of deposits sitting in low-cost current and savings accounts, was 36.6%.

Guidance check and the share price

As per CNBC-TV18, management kept its FY27 guidance unchanged. Here is how the first half stacks up. Credit growth of 14.7% is ahead of the 12-13% guidance, and deposit growth of 9.9% sits at the top of the 9-10% range. But first-half NII growth of 6.4% trails the 7% guidance, and operating profit growth of 5.2% is short of the 9-10% target. The bank expects recoveries of over ₹13,000 crore this year and had collected ₹5,594 crore in the first half, the channel reported.

PNB shares closed at ₹116.30 on the NSE on Friday, up ₹1.25 or 1.09% from ₹115.05, according to the NSE bhavcopy for October 16. That was before the results.

Our view: the books are cleaner and loan growth is steady, but a lot of the profit growth came from lower provisions, not core earnings. We would keep an eye on whether slippages stay contained, whether margins hold as loans outpace deposits, and whether the bank can close the gap to its operating profit guidance in the second half. Our bank stocks to watch on October 16 post set out what the market was looking for, and our guide on how to analyse quarterly results of a company explains how to read these numbers.

This article is a news summary for information only and is not investment advice. Please consult a SEBI-registered adviser before making investment decisions.