On Tuesday, scam-hit PNB reported a ₹13,416 crore loss in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, compared with a ₹262 crore profit a year earlier.
A significant reason for the large loss was the rise in provisions to ₹20,353.1 crore in the quarter ended March, compared with ₹5,753.51 crore a year earlier, according to the bank’s filing with the stock exchanges.
PNB’s capital adequacy ratio at the end of March was 9.2%, against the minimum regulatory requirement of 9%. And Nirav Modi isn’t entirely responsible for this. The bank provided a colossal Rs20,353 crore in the fourth quarter towards bad loans and fraud-hit accounts, but the Nirav Modi fraud accounted for less than two-fifths of this (Rs7,579 crore).
The lender also reported a quarterly loss of Rs13,417 crore, breaking its own record of the largest loss it reported exactly two years ago.
The bank’s asset quality has worsened quite a bit over the past couple of years, forcing it to provide more and more for bad and doubtful loans.
