State-run Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Friday reported a 4.39 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹5,443 crore for the December quarter, supported by lower provisions, even as compression in net interest margins limited growth in core income.
On a standalone basis, the bank’s net profit increased to ₹5,055 crore from ₹4,837 crore in the year-ago period. Net interest income (NII) rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to ₹11,800 crore, despite nearly 15 per cent growth in advances, as net interest margin (NIM) declined by 25 basis points to 2.79 per cent.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Debadatta Chand said the bank is likely to achieve the upper end of its 11–13 per cent loan growth guidance for FY26 and may even exceed it. He added that BoB is targeting a recovery in NIM to around 2.90 per cent by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal.
Non-interest income during the quarter grew 6 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,600 crore. retail segment led overall loan growth with a 17.4 per cent increase, driven by strong traction in education loans (12.8 per cent), personal loans (12 per cent), home loans (16 per cent), and auto loans (17.4 per cent). Corporate advances rose 8.1 per cent during the quarter, with the bank expecting to close FY26 with around 10 per cent growth in the segment.
Chand said the bank has a loan pipeline of about ₹75,000 crore, including ₹45,000 crore of sanctioned advances and over ₹30,000 crore at various stages of sanction. Total provisions declined 26.2 per cent year-on-year to ₹799 crore, including a 36 per cent drop in provisions for bad loans to ₹559 crore. Fresh slippages stood at ₹2,676 crore, marginally higher than ₹2,669 crore in the previous quarter.
Deposit growth during the quarter was 10.3 per cent. Chand said the bank would remain cautious on liability accretion while planning its loan expansion. On the capital front, the bank’s overall capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.29 per cent, including a core equity tier-I ratio of 12.45 per cent. Shares of Bank of Baroda closed 1.04 per cent lower at ₹299.35 on the BSE on Friday.
