Bandhan Bank PAT down 88 pc, to focus more on securedlending

In its endeavour to become a "truly universal bank", Kolkata-headquartered Bandhan Bank is deliberately and in a balanced manner bringing down the proportion of microfinance in its overall books (advance), while keeping its original focus on microfinance intact, top bank management said on Thursday.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

"In Q2 our microfinance book stands at 37 per cent of our overall book. In the corresponding quarter last year, it was 47 per cent (yoy). And originally it was almost 80 per cent. The microfinance segment has degrown by 13 per cent, It may cone down further to 30-32 per cent over the next two-three years" said Partha Pratim Sengupta, MD & CEO. Sengupta said, "Let me make it absolutely clear at this point that our micro finance segment will certainly grow but non-microfinance segment will grow faster. We will increasingly focus on secured lending."

Meanwhile, Bandhan Bank registered Rs 112 crores profit after tax in Q2FY26, down by 88 per cent over the same period last year mostly on account higher provisioning with a major part of it towards slippage in the microfinance sector and driving a transformation journey to realign towards a more diverse and resilient portfolio. It had posted Rs 937 crores PAT in Q2FY25.