Canara Bank has posted a net profit of Rs.1,106 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2010, 5 per cent higher than in the previous year.
Announcing the results, Bank Chairman and Managing Director S. Raman said,. “Our profits in the first three quarters have been higher than in the entire year of 2009-10.''
The bank made an operating profit of Rs.1,513 crore, 9.6 per cent higher than a year ago. The total volume of business amounted to Rs.4.53 lakh crore at the end of the quarter — deposits of Rs.2.63 lakh crore and advances of Rs.1.90 lakh crore. “Deposits increased by 25 per cent, compared to 16.5 per cent in the banking industry,'' Mr. Raman said. The bank's advances grew by 29 per cent, compared to the industry average of 24.4 per cent.
Net interest margin at the end of the quarter was 3.21 per cent, 50 basis points higher than a year earlier. Net interest income increased by 43.4 per cent. Gross non-performing assets, as a proportion of total assets, declined from 1.77 per cent a year ago to 1.44 per cent at the end of the last quarter. Referring to the move by the bank to acquire a bank in the U.S., Mr. Raman said, “We have made some headway and are examining a couple of options. We are also going to apply for a branch licence in the U.S.”
On the bank's exposure to the infrastructure sector, Mr. Raman said its portfolio of Rs.42,000 crore was ‘well dispersed.' The risk of an asset-liability mismatch was not great because the bank's access to low-cost current and savings accounts was fairly comfortable.
